Juba, October 30, 2018 (SSNA) — South Sudanese main opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar will attend a peace celebration tomorrow, a rebel spokesman said on Tuesday.
Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel, the deputy Spokesman for the armed opposition military wing, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO), said Machar will be in Juba by October 31, 2018 to celebrate peace. Lam also said Machar’s safety is number but asserted that he will be in Juba with rebel politicians, not soldiers.
“We are worried for his security in Juba, but the truth is here: we are for peace, and what we are trying to do is build trust. So that is why he is able to leave his forces behind and just go with politicians,” Col. Lam said.
The rebel spokesman pointed out that building trust between South Sudan’s rival leaders is what peace celebration means.
The recent peace deal, signed in Khartoum, raises hope that peace could return to the war-ravaged young nation. However, many South Sudan analysts question the viability of the pact, saying the agreement would likely retain the same system that caused the civil war in December 2013.