Western donor nations will commit no further resources to
support implementation of South Sudan’s peace deal, until East Africa’s
leaders find a credible way of relaunching an agreement ripped apart by a
worsening conflict.
Signed in 2015, the deal collapsed
when rebel leader Riek Machar, appointed First Vice President in a
unity government under President Salva Kiir, fled the country after
fighting broke out in the capital Juba last July.
The
government says it is implementing the peace deal after appointing a
replacement for Machar, and the West has stood by it until now.
But
the donors from the European Union, the US, Britain and Norway said
they will offer no further support. They have not specified how much
funding they have been providing.
Parts of the
agreement signed between the two men were “obsolete in light of the
expansion of conflict since 2015,” they said in a statement issued late
on Thursday.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into civil war in 2013 after Kiir fired his then deputy Machar.
The
war has split the country along ethnic lines, killing tens of thousands
and displacing nearly a quarter of the 12 million-strong population.
Millions face famine.
A national election, which the
deal stipulates should take place next year, would now be an
“unnecessary diversion” from ending the war given the widespread
violence, displacement and hunger, the donors said.
Government spokesman Michael Makuei said Juba would participate in efforts by East African nations to boost the peace process.
But
he refused to commit to including Machar as part of an inclusive plan
that Western nations have called for. He accused the West of having
“unstable opinions” and changing stance on backing the peace deal and
elections.
“This peace deal is their child and it is
their duty to ensure that this child survives,” he told Reuters. “If
they don’t want to support, then let them be quiet.”
Senior
rebel official Nathaniel Oyet said revitalising the deal was the “final
opportunity” to save the country from “total disintegration,” and
dismissed talk of holding an election.
No comments :
Post a Comment