South Sudan peace talks resume in Ethiopian capital

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Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) called on warring parties in the South Sudan conflict to avoid ceasefire violations as peace talks resumed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday.

A Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed by the parties on December 24 was broken hours after its enforcement was supposed to start.

IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, Ismael Wais, called for an end to further violations to help build and consolidate on the success, trust and confidence established by CoHA.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat (10th R), Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia, Workneh Gebeyehu (12th L) and former President of South Sudan Riek Machar's wife Angelina Teny (11th L) and other participants pose for a family photo after a meeting at African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on December 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

"The AU (African Union), IGAD the UN, and the wider international community have issued strong statements of condemnation of CoHA violations and warned the consequences for spoilers and violators" he said.

"In that regard, the region and the international community are ready to take punitive measures against individuals and organizations that have been verified as violators of this agreement. These aren't empty threats."

Heads of the UN, AU and IGAD had during the 30th AU summit last month jointly voiced their frustrations and warned South Sudan's warring factions against violating the recent peace deal.

For Ismael, the threat of punitive action comes out of exasperation from a four-year-old grinding civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions of people.

Participants are seen during closing session of the 30th African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa on January 29. /VCG Photo

Already starting this month, the US imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan while the EU put asset freezes and travel bans on three current and former South Sudanese officials.

Paul Sutphin, the US State Department senior adviser on Sudan and South Sudan, on Monday called for South Sudan's neighbors to undertake arms embargoes to pressure warring sides to the negotiating table.

Workineh Gebeyhu, IGAD Council of Ministers chairman, while not explicitly referencing consequences for warring sides, warned that South Sudan parties have reached a critical juncture in the peace process.

Gebeyehu, who is also Ethiopia's foreign minister, said with the CoHA signed last December already violated multiple times, IGAD may be forced to impose sanctions on violators.

Recently arrived refugees from South Sudan wait for food rations at the Kakuma refugee complex in Kenya on February 1. /VCG Photo

"We've reached a critical time to revisit the range of political measures to take on violators and spoilers of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement," he said.

Yan Liang of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) overseeing the agreement told Xinhua News Agency the prospect of sanctions on warring sides should be thought carefully.

"The peace process will move forward, not because of the pressure of international community, but because it's the wish of South Sudanese people. We should follow people's will and fight for their country," he said.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi (R), Turkana county Governor, Josphat Nanok (L) walk during a visit with recently arrived refugees from South Sudan on February 1, 2018 at Kakuma refugee complex. /VCG Photo

"An arms embargo was imposed by the US government unilaterally. For IGAD we hope collective efforts could be made based on consensus which can bring all regional partners to help South Sudan, to convince them to come to the negotiating table and stop fighting."

JMEC reports directly to heads of state and government of IGAD.

He Xiangdong, Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, told Xinhua that China doesn't rule out sanctions as a pressuring point to South Sudanese warring factions, but he cautioned that it should be coordinated with all relevant parties and consideration given to the possible consequences of sanctions.

"I think on punitive matters we need further consultation with IGAD countries and AU, definitely a certain kind of pressure is needed to push the peace process to move forward, while at the same time be cautious of results of all the possible measures, because we need to put results first. Any measures need to be carefully calculated to see if it's helpful to resolve the problems or not," he said.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than four years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll on the people, creating one of the most severe refugee crises in the world.

Nybol Madut (C) who lost three children to a militia, sits with her remaining two children next to a shelter at an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camp formed by local community members at Barmayen village in Aweil state some 740km north-west of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on November 22, 2017. /VCG Photo

The world's newest nation descended into violence after a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel chief Riek Machar led to a split in the army, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines.

A 2015 peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict was weakened after an outbreak of renewed fighting in July 2016 forced Machar to flee the country.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency