RJMEC: "There is a risk of a large-scale resumption of civil war in South Sudan"

Juba (Agenzia Fides) - "The political stalemate between the various parties in South Sudan must be resolved before it is too late," said George Owinow, President of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), the body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the peace agreements in South Sudan, on October 7.

"The RJMEC calls on regional and international guarantors to urgently use their diplomatic influence to resolve the political and security stalemate between the SPLM/A-IO and the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU)," Owinow stated at the opening of the RJMEC's extraordinary plenary session. The Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity is the government of national unity that emerged from the 2018 peace agreements, which are now in jeopardy following the arrest of Vice President Riek Machar. He is the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), the faction of South Sudan's largest ruling party since 2011, which split in 2013 at the outbreak of the civil war.

Machar was placed under house arrest in March 2025 by order of President Salva Kiir for allegedly supporting the so-called "Nuer White Army," one of several ethnic armed groups in South Sudan affiliated with the SPLM/A-IO.

The RJMEC states that it has received reports that all parties to the conflict have abducted children and young people to recruit into their ranks. There are therefore fears that the various parties to the conflict are preparing for further escalation. Renewed fighting between the South Sudanese army and forces loyal to Riek Machar has intensified since the end of 2024. Representatives of the United Kingdom and Norway (two countries that are part of the mechanism for reviewing the peace agreements in South Sudan) have also warned of the risks of a large-scale resumption of the civil war.

In a joint statement read during the Extraordinary Plenary session, the representatives of the two states said they "noted with deep regret that even the limited progress made over the past seven months has been reversed."

"Instead, we are witnessing repeated and sustained violations of the peace agreement," they affirmed. Norway and the United Kingdom emphasized that the legitimacy of the transitional government is enshrined in the peace agreement and warned that the detention of political opponents without consultation with partners "undermines peace and risks provoking further conflict." The ambassadors of both countries declared that the permanent ceasefire at the national level had de facto collapsed, as the two main signatory parties – the government's SPLM and Machar's SPLM-IO – "are regularly involved in armed clashes in at least four states and openly describe each other as enemies."

The two ambassadors urged an end to the fighting, warning that the limited resumption of the conflict so far has already cost thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. (L.M.)

Source: https://www.fides.org/en/news/76899-AFRICA_SOUTH_SUDAN_Body_responsible_for_monitoring_the_peace_agreements_There_is_a_risk_of_a_large_scale_resumption_of_civil_war