Troika ‘alarmed’ by renewed clashes in Yei River State

Juba, February 20, 2019 (SSNA) — The Troika countries (the United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom) issued a statement on Wednesday, expressing concern about the ongoing fighting between government and the National Salvation Front (NAS) in South Sudan’s Yei River State.

In the statement, the 3-nation bloc seen as the main backer of the war-wracked young explains that it is alarmed about the renewed military confrontation between the warring factions, saying the parties involved in the escalation of the war violate the December 2017 and September 2018 agreements

“The members of the Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are alarmed about the escalating conflict around Yei, which represents a flagrant breach of the December 2017 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and the September 2018 revitalized peace agreement. These military actions, and the trading of blame, must stop,” Troika says.

Troika also warns that the renewed fighting in Yei River State undermines the peace agreement and lowers its confidence.

“This renewed violence risks undermining the peace agreement and lowers confidence of the Troika and other international partners in the parties’ seriousness and commitment to peace at a critical time of the pre-transitional period of the revitalized peace agreement,” the group  explains.

South Sudan’s government forces first launched coordinated attacks on the NAS positions in and around Yei River State on January 19, according to senior government and intelligence sources who spoke to the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA). The sources told the SSNA that South Sudanese government is not happy about the fact that the NAS leadership continue to refuse to back the September 2018 peace deal.

The National Salvation Front calls the agreement “recipe for more conflicts.”