South Sudan's President Kiir Offers Sudan Peace Talks Venue in Juba

Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s 78th session in September 2023 (Cia Pak / UN Photo)

Harare — South Sudanese President Salva Kiir reaffirmed his willingness to convene a gathering of political leaders from Sudan in Juba next week.

Kiir spoke after receiving a briefing on events in Sudan from Malik Agar Eyre, deputy chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan. During the talks led by Kiir, Sudanese leaders will evaluate the Juba Peace Agreement while developing a shared vision of how to resolve the current issue, according to Presidential Advisor on National Security Affairs Tut Gatluak Manime.

Kiir was commended by Chargé d'Affaires of the  Embassy  of  Sudan  in Juba  Jamal Malik  for efforts to bring about stability and peace in Sudan and plead that Sudan's military and political establishment to put an end to the crisis amicably.

No other mediator was able to present proposals acceptable to all sides of the conflict in Sudan after the country's military accused Kenya and the United Arab Emirates of helping the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) . Egypt, on the other hand, is believed to back the country's army.

Earlier in September 2023, Sudan rejected Kenya's bid to lead the IGAD quartet group for South Sudan as the preferred mediator.

It's six months since fighting flared up between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces that operated under ousted leader Omar al-Bashir for 30 years. The United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) adopted a resolution to form a fact-finding committee on crimes and violations in Sudan after the outbreak of war, by a majority of 19 votes to 16, with 12 member states abstaining.

The United Nations Children's Fund said 19 million children in Sudan are out of school as the conflict reaches the sixth-month mark on October 15. The academic year started with all schools closed due to impacts of the war, risking a "generational catastrophe".

More than 5.5 million people were displaced since the war started. More than 1,200 people killed and 8,396 injured, according to Sudan's Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, only a third of the necessary funding for humanitarian provisions was raised, the UN said.