Gov’t fails to reach peace deal with holdout groups as Rome talk adjourns

ROME, MARCH 24, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The government has failed to reach an agreement with holdout opposition groups forcing Italian mediation to adjourn the Rome talks to May, according to presidential affairs minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin.

“The talks were cordial, and the government insisted that the agenda should be relevant to where the talks were stopped in 2021 so that we (parties) can take off and make sure the Rome peace talks are progressing well,” he said.

“The early agenda of 2021 indicates the movement of the peace talks positively and will lead to lasting peace in South Sudan,” the senior government official who is also the government chief negotiator further added.

For his part, opposition leader and chair of the National Salvation Front (NAS) General Thomas Cirilo Swaka called for inclusive process to address the root causes of the conflict in the country and expressed his commitment to negotiating in good faith to bring permanent peace.

“We shoulder the responsibility to rescue our country and have vowed to continue the struggle for freedom, justice, equality, and democracy for our people,” the opposition leader said.

“We (the holdouts) call for the inclusivity of all stakeholders to discuss and address the root causes of the conflict to allow a new political dispensation in the country,” he added.