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South Sudan to Resume Peace Talks on Monday
On Monday, peace negotiations between South Sudan’s warring factions will begin in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Dina Mufti.
Officials indicate that after Monday’s opening ceremony of the resumption of the peace talks, the negotiations will be moved to Debre Zeit, a town 45 kilometers south of Addis Ababa.
Mufti says both factions have claimed to abide by the cessation of hostilities agreement despite reports of conflict between the two groups in several areas of the country.
Mufti went on to add, “Both of them are saying they are observing the agreement of cessation of hostilities, however, there are different positions… While the opposition is talking about the difference within the SPLM [ruling party], the government side is talking about the opposition staging a coup d’état. These are the major differences that have to be fixed during the substantive discussions and that also be taken up.”
Mufti also pointed out that the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional group that organized the peace negotiations, will be monitoring the cessation of hostilities agreement.
“The monitoring team has been dispatched to South Sudan and they have established themselves in [some] areas, where there would be an institution for monitoring the cessation of hostilities or ceasefire. There would be a monitoring and verification group on the ground, and this is also to be strengthened, actually this is where we have also seen progress,” Mufti stated.
The factions signed a cessation of hostilities agreement on January 4 following international pressure. So far, the conflict in South Sudan has left over 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes.
