As peace deadline expires today South Sudan at crossroads

Amidst a strongly worded call by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the South Sudan leaders, President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar “to show leadership” and put the “well-being of South Sudanese ahead of all other interests,” the Sudan Tribune has today reported that that the last round of peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, between the two warring parties, seems to be at a standstill.

Yesterday 4 March, South Sudan’s CRN reported that the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in a statement released by his spokesperson's office had urged South Sudan’s political rivals to resolve their differences and move towards a lasting peace ahead of today’s 5 March deadline.

The East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which is brokering the peace talks, gave South Sudan’s rivals a deadline that expires today. The factions have to resolve all contentious issues and sign a final peace agreement by day’s end.

However, the Sudan Tribune says in the last three days of their direct face-to-face negotiations, Kiir and Machar have failed to agree on most issues.

The  two factions are deadlocked on the contentious issues of federalism, status of forces, transitional security arrangements, wealth-sharing, status of national legislature, national debts, transitional justice and parameters of the permanent constitution making process. Other issues on today’s agenda include the leadership structure, power sharing ratios and institutional reforms.

As Thursday 5 March deadline ticks away, it remains unclear what course of action IGAD, as the regional mediators, will take to ensure lasting peace that would end the devastating 15-month war.

In another development, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), this week, unanimously adopted a resolution which would impose sanctions on South Sudan’s warring leaders such as travel bans and asset freeze.

 (CRN & Sudan Tribune)

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