Juba, January 17, 2019 (SSNA) — A South Sudanese Governor Alberio Tobiolo of Torit State said the war-ravaged young nation is peaceful and that all refugees who fled the country should return to their homes, the Uganda-based Observer newspaper reports.
The Governor says calm has returned to the nation and claims that most South Sudanese refugees have already returned to the country.
“Yes, South Sudan is peaceful, very peaceful. Most of the refugees have returned, those in Kenya have returned, those from Uganda are also returning,” Alberio said, adding, “The area is peaceful, and we call upon all people.”
Alberio urges all South Sudanese nationals living in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Cong (DRC), Uganda, and Central African Republic (CAR) to return home.
However, an independent South Sudanese political analyst who talked exclusively to the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal dismissed Alberio’s claims as “nonsense” and urges the Governor “to stop acting like an appeaser.”
“I really do not know what is in Alberio Tobiolo’s mind. His call for those who fled for their lives to return while the peace he talking about is not even implemented yet is just nonsense. He should stop acting like an appeaser,” the Analyst told the SSNA in Juba.
“Governor Alberio should come to terms with reality. There are even more South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia and Sudan and he doesn’t mention them. I don’t really know the peace Alberio is talking about,” he added.
South Sudan’s warring factions signed an agreement in September last year, raising the hope that the five-year-old civil war which killed nearly 400,000, will end.