Nairobi/Juba, February 14, 2019 (SSNA) — The governments of South Sudan and Uganda has violated and continue to violate the September 2018 peace agreement, an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) diplomatic source who talked exclusively to the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) on condition of anonymity says on Thursday.
The source, who exposes what he calls “IGAD’s soft stand on Uganda continue meddling in South Sudan internal affairs,” claims that Ugandan troops were officially identified in January in Amadi and Yei River States.
“I can conclusively tell here today that Ugandan soldiers have resumed fighting on behalf of the South Sudanese government. The peace that was signed in Khartoum bans any military confrontation, recruitment, and deployment,” the source told the SSNA in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday.
“We know Ugandan troops are already in South Sudan fighting alongside SSPDF against rebels. This is unacceptable and a clear violation of peace. IGAD must stop its soft stand on Uganda’s continue meddling in South Sudan’s internal affairs,” explains the source.
During the interview, the same source criticizes IGAD for being selective, asserting that “the reaction would have been different if the National Salvation Front (NAS) or any other South Sudanese rebel group attacked the government forces,” adding, “There is no need to fight against the NAS group. Compromise is what is needed to end the war. Something needs to be changed if the region is serious about a lasting peace in this young country.”
This is not the first time Uganda is accused of double standards. The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni sent troops to South Sudan weeks before the December 2013 broke out. He then publicly claimed two weeks after the conflict erupted that Ugandan and the entire East African region were ready to defeat rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar.
A senior Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) official told one of our reporters in Juba today that the armed opposition is disturbed by the ongoing military offensives in Yei and Amadi States.
The source also told South Sudan News Agency that Ugandan troops first involvement in a military operation this year was on January 19 against the NAS and that Juba and Kampala are now actively operating together.