Machar blames President Kiir for collapse of peace deal
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South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar speaks during a briefing
in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa April 9, 2016 (Photo Reuters/ Tiksa
Negeri)
October 12, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - South Sudan’s former first
vice-president and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, said
President Salva Kiir is responsible for the renewed violence in the
capital, Juba, and the collapse of the August 2015 peace agreement the
two leaders signed to end 21 months of civil war in the country.
Machar made the public comment to reporters in the Sudanese capital,
Khartoum, on Wednesday for the first time after arriving in Khartoum
at the end of August. He gave the statement to reporters at Khartoum
airport as he was leaving for South Africa to receive further medical
treatment.
The opposition leader who fled Juba following street battle which
started at the palace on 8 July and in his residence on 10 July
between his small number of troops and huge number of forces loyal to
President Salva Kiir, narrated to journalists how the violence erupted
that forced him to cross into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
On 17 August, United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo airlifted him from the South Sudan-DRC border to inside the
neighbouring country. He was subsequently transferred to Khartoum for
medical treatment.
He told reporters at Khartoum airport upon his departure on Wednesday
that he was heading for South Africa for further medical examinations,
saying he would meet his personal doctor.
However, Machar didn’t specify his next destination after South
Africa. The opposition leader pointed out that he arrived in Khartoum
from the DRC seeking medical treatment after President Omer al-Bashir
agreed to host him in Sudan.
He thanked the Sudanese people and government, President al-Bashir and
the doctors who treated him, saying he regained his full health.
Machar pointed that the Politburo of the Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement (SPLM-IO) has met and taken a number of decisions on the
ongoing developments in South Sudan, saying they noticed the lack of
initiatives to rescue the peace agreement.
“Until yesterday we haven’t seen any regional or international or
African Union initiative to rescue the agreement,” he said.
The opposition leader further said they believe the peace deal and the
government had both collapsed since July events, stressing the present
government in Juba is not the transitional government of national
unity but a “new regime installed by Salva Kiir.”
REGIME CHANGE
Machar accused President Kiir of declaring war on him and his forces,
saying they will now organize a resistance even to overthrow him from
power.
“We seek to achieve a political and peaceful solution for the issue …
Salva has declared war against us and we would resist and organize
ourselves to resist the government even if that will lead to
overthrowing it,” he said.
“Salva is the one who started violence against us at the
[presidential] palace and he continues until today to attack our
forces … major clashes are ongoing now in Equatoria, Upper Nile and
Bahr el Ghazal and we are not responsible for it … the political
solution is our first option,” he added.
He said Kiir lured him to the palace in order to assassinate him and
that he was not aware of the plot.
He described how the clashes erupted on 8 July, saying “I was invited
by President Kiir for a meeting in the presidential palace to discuss
state matters but didn’t know there was a plot to assassinate me.”
Machar added that clashes between his guards and Kiir’s forces erupted
45 minutes after the meeting had convened and continued for about an
hour, saying Kiir’s forces stopped their plot after they realized that
we may all get killed.
He added that a meeting between him and Kiir was scheduled to be held
in the next day but the latter postponed it.
“After that we were surprised by a two-day attack against the area
where we are located … I was in constant contact with the President of
the Republic, and I told him that we must stop these clashes, but he
insisted on taking our sites in Juba by force,” he explained.
“Following these developments I called for a meeting and decided to
withdraw my troops … I went south towards [Yei] Equatoria … we were
being hunted down by ground troops while warplanes continued to bomb
our sites …I walked on foot for 37 days until we arrived in the DRC
where I contacted the government via some governments in the region
and I also contacted the U.N. and asked them to help us leave for a
safe zone,” he further narrated.
Barely five years after its independence from neighbouring Sudan,
South Sudan has descended into civil war in December 2013. Tens of
thousands of South Sudanese civilians were killed and more than 2
million displaced.
Last year, Machar and Kiir signed a peace accord to end nearly two
years of violence. The deal created a transitional government to last
for 30 months in which Kiir was to remain President and Machar as
first vice president.
However, clashes erupted again last July between the two rivals
forcing over 200,000 people to flee the country, bringing the number
of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring nations to over 1 million.
(ST)
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The Sudan Tribune editorial team.
13 October 05:23, by Akook
New twists coming out!!
Machar was in constant contact with the president during clashes
pleading to meet him and stop ongoing fighting?
But Kiir insisted he must capture Jebel KunyJur by force! Really?
repondre message
13 October 06:12, by Whortti Bor Manza
To Dr. Riek Machar,
Pls sir, do not waste time explaining your ordeal, Kiir will
not understand it. The solution is to provide arms and let’s take the
MTN head long. this is bearing fruits along Yei, Nimule and Torit
roads. These callous beasts are being tought a good lesson in WBGS, in
Bazia and Busheri and that’s why they are silent. Pls get arms as soon
as possible. MTN will quit sooner.
repondre message
13 October 06:30, by southsudan
Excellent—There is no more waste of time. The Dinka
community need to know that time has come for them to stop killing
innocent communities. Stop your aggression against peace loving
people. Machar — You will be okay and you will come and liberate South
Sudanese from this stupid Government of Kiir. We will block all the
roads and they will leave equatoria by air or use their cattle to
carry them
repondre message
13 October 06:57, by NuerTribune
Readers Please don’t believe RiakTribune pretense reporting! Sudan
Tribune is the undercover official Riak propaganda channel that is
simply continuing its proRiak lies. They keep deleting my comments and
banning my account which I am sure they will do shortly. Where is the
freedom of speech that you purport to be fighting for?????
repondre message
13 October 06:57, by NuerTribune
Readers Please don’t believe RiakTribune pretense reporting! Sudan
Tribune is the undercover official Riak propaganda channel that is
simply continuing its proRiak lies. They keep deleting my comments and
banning my account which I am sure they will do shortly. Where is the
freedom of speech that you purport to be fighting for?????
repondre message
13 October 06:58, by NuerTribune
Readers Please don’t believe RiakTribune pretense reporting! Sudan
Tribune is the undercover official Riak propaganda channel that is
simply continuing its proRiak lies. They keep deleting my comments and
banning my account which I am sure they will do shortly. Where is the
freedom of speech that you purport to be fighting for?????