Avert war by all means
What you need to know:
- It is clear that the regional leaders will not countenance any move by Dr Machar to take power by force
Brinkmanship between South Sudan leader Salva Kiir and his former Vice-President Riek Machar should not be allowed to derail the pursuit for peace in that country.
It is instructive that the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development has given the two political foes four days to start peace talks, without specifying what will happen if they don’t.
But it also clear that the regional leaders will not countenance any move by Dr Machar to take power by force, though, again they do not say what exactly they will do to ensure a coup does not take place.
South Sudan is a very fragile country at the moment after more than 20 years of incessant warfare, and every effort must be made to bring Dr Machar to the negotiation table without too many conditions.
But good faith is absolutely essential during such peace talks.
We hope that common sense prevails so the country does not plunge into total mayhem.
