Addis Ababa, February 13, 2015 (SSNA) — The leadership of South Sudan Democratic Army/Movement (SSDA/M) Cobra Faction has abandoned a peace deal which it signed with South Sudanese government in 2014.
The group accuses Kiir’s government of “ethnically motivated practices and killings.”
In a public statement signed by Col. Paulino Zangil and extended to the South Sudan News Agency, the bloc said the government of South Sudan violates the agreement by killing Pibor’s citizens and that Juba keeps imposing its own rules which contradicts the 2014 peace agreement.
“…this regime has killed our people, it dishonor its commitment to the peace agreement with Cobra forces,” the statement reads in parts.
“As such, we condemn the regime’s tactics which promote ethnic conflicts between the neighboring communities,” it added.
The Cobra faction made it clear that it has officially joined armed struggle against South Sudan’s government and calls on all South Sudanese to “rise against the regime in Juba."
In May 2014, Cobra faction signed an agreement with Kiir’s government in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The pact gives the Greater Pibor power to rule itself. However, many South Sudanese Observers said the treaty was a smart move on the government’s side, stressing that kiir was simply looking for any deal that could minimize, perhaps silence Cobra’s rebellion.