Fighting resumes in South Sudan after no peace deal signed

The compromise agreement put forth by IGAD last month, a copy of which was obtained from the rebel faction, laid out a political settlement that sought to appoint Riek Machar to the position offirst vice president as part of a reconstituted transitional government.

However, we are deeply disappointed that the Government of South Sudan under President Kiir yet again squandered the opportunity to bring peace to their people by refusing to sign the agreement.

The draft resolution was circulated shortly after Kiir told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that he would sign the peace deal after “a couple of more days of consultation”.

But in the battleground states of Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile, the government gets 46 percent and the rebels 40 percent of posts.

The government of the Republic of South Sudan decided not to sign but initialled the agreement.

There also was fighting Tuesday in Eastern Equatoria state near the border with Uganda.

Rebel forces led by former Vice President Riek Machar have also been accused of killing civilians in cold blood and attacking places of worship.

It was not possible to independently verify the various allegations.

FILE – National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

Assailants have reportedly shot dead a reporter for the New Nation newspaper in South Sudan in an apparently targeted attack, days after President Salva Kiir allegedly made a thinly veiled threat to target journalists who reported “against the country”.

In the recent few weeks the worldwide community became convinced that Sudan could not be excluded from the equation of resolving the dilemma of South Sudan considering it as the most important player that can stop the war. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over 100,000 others have taken shelter in UN bases throughout the country since the conflict flared up.

A senior US diplomat would not reveal when the council would vote on the resolution but said that in order for the body to be influential, it was important to act very soon.

Soliman said one major sticking point is power-sharing that would give each party a certain percentage of seats in the state parliaments.

Moi was the seventh journalist to be murdered in South Sudan since the start of the year.