Juba (AFP) - Ceasefire monitors have begun work in South Sudan, officials said Monday, amid repeated claims both government and rebels are breaking a deal to stop weeks of bloodshed in which thousands have been killed.
Clashes continue despite the deal signed last month by government and rebels, brokered by the East African bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
"Some monitors have come," South Sudanese Vice-President James Wani Igga told reporters on Monday.
Thousands are believed to have been killed in the fighting pitting forces loyal to President Salva Kiir against a loose coalition of army defectors and ethnic militia nominally headed by sacked vice president Riek Machar, a seasoned guerrilla fighter.
The advance 14-person strong IGAD team -- led by an Ethiopian general with a Sudanese deputy -- arrived on Sunday and will report back on February 7 to IGAD special envoys in Ethiopia, when rival forces are due to restart peace talks.
IGAD teams are meant to ensure the warring sides honour their deal, but many fear the unarmed observers will struggle to monitor loose frontlines between multiple forces in a vast country with few roads.
[1]Sudan People's Liberation Army government soldiers walk past dead bodies in Mathiang on January …
The team will investigate "areas for possible deployment of the monitors", IGAD said in a statement.
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson on Friday warned the "cessation of hostilities is not holding 100 percent", including some "very serious" breaches.
The government also dismissed rebel claims it was using mercenary forces to fight against them -- including Sudanese and Congolese guerrillas -- as lies.
"All these claims have no foundation at all," Igga said, in turn accusing the rebels of "now training and recruiting" for further attacks.
Uganda, a key IGAD member, sent in troops to back President Salva Kiir days after fighting broke out.
But rebel spokesman Lul Ruai Koang has also accused South Sudan's government of using foreign fighters, including rebels from neighbouring war-torn Sudan.
Those include both fighters from Sudan's Darfur region, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), as well as Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLM-N) rebels, from the Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions.
He also claimed that fighters from the M23 rebels of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the Rwandan militia who carried out the 1994 genocide and who are now based in DR Congo and known as the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) were fighting on the government side.
It provides "clear indications that Kiir’s government is not interested in peace but prepared for war" Koang added.
- Unrest, Conflicts & War
- Politics & Government
- South Sudan
- IGAD
- James Wani Igga
References
- ^ Sudan People's Liberation Army government soldiers … (news.yahoo.com)
Source http://news.yahoo.com/south-sudan-ceasefire-monitors-deploy-amid-fighting-000620669.html
Newer articles:
- South Sudan: Greater Transparency Urged for UN's South Sudan Mission - 03/02/2014 13:47
- Africa: Justice Cannot Wait in South Sudan - 03/02/2014 13:34
- South Sudan: Church excluded from peace talks - 03/02/2014 12:20
- South Sudan ravaged by ethnic violence - 03/02/2014 08:13
- South Sudan fighters trade blame for ceasefire violations - 03/02/2014 03:16
Older news items
- Government retakes Machar's hometown, say South Sudan rebels - 02/02/2014 11:04
- South Sudan rebels say under attack by government troops and allied militias - 02/02/2014 10:53
- Bodies litter looted South Sudan town - 02/02/2014 00:07
- South Sudan: Yau Yau, South Sudan Government Sign Ceasefire Deal - 01/02/2014 06:53
- South Sudan looting of aid reflects the new nation's setbacks - 01/02/2014 01:26
Latest news items (all categories):
- Ramaphosa presses Kiir to implement peace deal ahead of South Sudan’s first elections - 09/10/2026 12:19
- South Sudan steps up Ebola alert after Kenya case - 09/10/2026 12:17
- Laotian man deported by U.S. to South Sudan leaves for Laos after year in detention - 09/10/2026 12:14
- Bullet and blast injuries … and a constant need for blood: inside South Sudan’s overwhelmed trauma wards - 09/10/2026 12:10
- MTN South Sudan and Regulator Pledge Cooperation to Expand Connectivity - 09/10/2026 12:01
Random articles (all categories):
- South Sudan: Sanctions Aren't Working, but They Could. Here's How. - 04/06/2018 00:26
- South Sudan grounds UNMISS aircraft over spy gear and smuggling allegations - 15/12/2025 13:43
- Congratulatory Message to President-elect - 10/11/2008 09:42
- Sudan’s coup-hit economy in free fall; protests continue - 22/03/2022 00:07
- US demands South Sudan allow rebel chief's return - 24/04/2016 12:50
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 150849 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 28209 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 25316 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 24543 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 22505 times
