Watchdog says continued threats against Machar’s allies violate peace deal 

JUBA – A local civil society organization in South Sudan’s capital Juba has expressed concerns over continued threats and intimidation being raised by the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) in the country, with most recent one in Warrap state where opposition lawmakers have accused the governor of intimidating and threatening to kill them.

Speaking during a press conference in Juba on Monday evening, a group of SPLM-IO lawmakers in the recently reconstituted national parliament representing Warrap state said Governor Aleu Ayieny Aleu has publicly threatened to deal with SPLM-IO members of the Warrap state transitional governor even if that would mean to kill them.

The governor this afternoon issued a statement and dismissed the SPLM-IO claims as ‘false’ saying the “SPLM-IG in Warrap State is implementing the R-ARCSS in spirit and letter, and to this effect, I am working in harmony with peace partners, including members of the SPLM-IO.”

It remains unclear what sparked the disagreements between the two main signatories to the revitalized peace agreement, but the governor has accused unnamed political players who are vying for the position of Warrap governor of standing behind the accusation.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, said continued threats against members of the SPLM-IO members in the country, Warrap in particular, are violation of the peace agreement.

“Posing political threats towards peace partners in line with the implementation of Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) tantamount to violation,” he said on Wednesday.

The activist further called for change of attitudes among some politicians in the young nation.

“This negative developments in Warrap state undermines the spirit of the R-ARCSS implementation centered on political attitude of consultations and consensus building,” he stressed.