South Sudan Parties Trade Blame On Deal
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Tags: Arms and Armies, cease-fire deal, Conflict, South Sudan Parties
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South Sudan’s warring parties on Monday accused each other of violating the cease-fire deal which they signed last August, Radio Tamazuj reported.
“Since Sunday morning the government army has been bombarding areas under our control south of Malakal,” the radio quoted William Gatjiath, the military spokesman of South Sudan’s major rebel group, as saying.
However, South Sudan government army spokesman Philip Aguer denied the accusation. “Our forces have not made any moves in Upper Nile State and we have not targeted any areas under the control of the rebel forces,” Aguer was quoted as saying.
He further accused the rebel movement, led by former vice-president Riek Machar, of attacking areas under the government forces control in Upper Nile, namely Wadakona area.
The two South Sudanese warring parties have recently declared their commitment to a comprehensive cease-fire that went into effect as of last Aug. 30 in accordance with a peace deal signed by the two sides last August under the patronage of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD).
However, the two sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the cease-fire agreement which aims to end violence in the newly-born state. South Sudan was plunged into violence in December 2013 when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar.
The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension. The clashes have killed thousands of South Sudanese and forced around 1.9 million to flee their homes.(NMG)
