Hopes of final S. Sudan peace deal dim as rebel chiefs dump Machar

Internally displaced women and children wait for their food rations after an airdrop by the World Food Programme in a small locality in Mayendit County last month. A peace agreement that will enable them to return to their homes is eluding the warring factions. FILE AFP PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • In a terse statement released this week, some rebel chiefs accused Machar of turning the movement into “a family enterprise” and vowed to present their own demands at peace talks sponsored by regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).
  • The declaration by senior leaders Gabriel Changson Chang, Gabriel Yoal Fok, Thomson Thoan Teny, Michael Mariew Dhuor and Timothy Tot Chol came just four days to the August 17 deadline declared by US President Barack Obama when he toured Kenya and Ethiopia late last month.

South Sudan’s hopes of reaching a long-term peace deal have been shattered following fresh disagreements among rebel commanders associated with former Vice-President Riek Machar.

In a terse statement released this week, some rebel chiefs accused Machar of turning the movement into “a family enterprise” and vowed to present their own demands at peace talks sponsored by regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).

“We appeal to the Igad-Plus group to adjourn this session so that we can develop our peace proposals and select our delegates to the talks,” the rebels chiefs said on Wednesday.

“We reiterate our support for a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, any agreement that confirms President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar as leaders of the transitional government of national unity shall not bring sustainable peace.”

The declaration by senior leaders Gabriel Changson Chang, Gabriel Yoal Fok, Thomson Thoan Teny, Michael Mariew Dhuor and Timothy Tot Chol came just four days to the August 17 deadline declared by US President Barack Obama when he toured Kenya and Ethiopia late last month.

Obama gathered leaders or their representatives from Igad, which has been midwifing the talks since January 2014, a month after Machar and Kiir loyalist forces began fighting.

Last month, Igad published a Proposed Compromise Agreement which it said had been endorsed by both the African Union and the international community for a 30-month transition government before elections are held.

The proposals suggest that Kiir retains 53 per cent of posts, rebels take 33 per cent, former detainees 7 per cent and other political parties take seven. Kiir and Machar are to be co-principals in the transitional government.

Both sides initially rejected the proposals.

However, last week Igad leaders meeting in Kampala reached “Resolution of South Sudan Conflict” in which they proposed that no power sharing be allowed in South Sudan as suggested in the compromise agreement.

The Kampala Agreement seen by the Sunday Nation proposes to retain percentage power sharing but wants all South Sudan regional states to be run by governors who were there before the conflict in 2013.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour also agreed not to demilitarise Juba as had been proposed.

In turn, they agreed that the security arrangements in Juba will be determined by Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda after which soldiers from both Kiir and Machar’s sides will be reintegrated into the South Sudanese army.

Sources told the Sunday Nation that the security situation was thought to be too fragile to be left in the hands of parties during the transition period.

The Kampala proposal did not give a time frame for integration but the split among rebels means the agreement may never be signed by August 17.

On Friday, Machar told the Sunday Nation he was unaware of a split but accused President Kiir’s government of trying to woo the leaders to his side before.

“We have not received any official statement from those who claim to have split from us. We released the commanders so they could be redeployed to other assignments,” James Gatdet, Machar’s spokesman in Nairobi said.

“It would be very unfortunate if it were true because we expect to sign a peace agreement by next week and we don’t want anyone to be left behind. We are open to negotiate with them if they have defected,” he said.

Although Machar’s side could not reveal reasons why the senior commanders would want out, Gatdet said the four could be “impatient” and may have been influenced by the Juba government.

“Maybe they are angry because they have been relieved of their duties and cannot wait for redeployment. We have read statements that the government has been encouraging the split, perhaps to weaken us and maybe say we have no common position to bring on the negotiating table,” he said.

Juba denied the claims when contacted and James P Morgan, the South Sudan Deputy Head of Mission in Nairobi, said the disagreements reflected the inability of Machar to be in charge of his group.

The tiff between Machar and his senior commanders began last month when he started replacing them from their military duties within the rebel movement, the South Sudan Liberation Movement-in Opposition (SPLM-IO).

Former Deputy Chief of General Staff for operations, Peter Gatdet Yaka, and former Deputy Chief of General Staff for logistics, Gathoth Gatkuoth, were “relieved” of their duties in July on Machar’s orders.