Events
- South Sudanese government on Monday 24th August 2015 accused rebel forces under leadership of former vice president, Riek Machar of attacks in a strategic town in central Equatoria state.
- Arned men overran Lainya town in central Equatoria state at a police post and seized several riffles.
- The government accuses rebel forces of causing panic and anxiety among the local population.
- And on Sunday 23rd August, the rebel group issued a statement saying the government forces attacked their position around Lainya area.
- They said they repulsed government forces, destroying six trucks and killing 20 people.
Summary
The armed opposition group under leadership of former vice president, Riek Machar has accused the government of trying to derail the peace agreement to which the rebel leader signed in Addis Ababa by on 17th August, 2015.
The government on its side accuses the rebel forces of continued attacks against civilians which they say continue to cause panic among civilians.
Unlike Machar, who appended his signature on a deal that is aimed to restore peace in South Sudan, Kiir is yet to show signs on agreeing to the terms of the deal. International bodies agreed to his request to get 15 more days to consult with his officials before he could sign it.
Failure to sign the agreement is likely to pull appalling diplomatic strings from the international bodies and the United States.
Intelligence analysis has foreseen a situation in which if the attacks and resulting blame games over the attacks continue amid efforts to strike a peace deal, the struggle to restore peace in South Sudan could nosedive.
The situation is likely to be similar to the case in South Sudan’s neighbor, Sudan, whose efforts to strike an agreement with various armed rebels has failed in the past. The Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the rebel groups in Sudan, signed a ceasefire agreement in February 2010 in peace pursuit. The talks were disrupted by accusations that the Sudanese army launched raids and air strikes against a village, violating the agreement.
