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DUBLIN – South Sudanese government troops violated the last ceasefire in the country a few hours after starting at midnight, the armed opposition announced Saturday, while Government spokesman accused the rebels of attacking.
reported that the latest attempt to end the devastating five-year civil war, which left tens of thousands of people dead and created the biggest refugee crisis in Africa since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has started hesitantly. Millions are close to starvation and the delivery of aid is often stuck in one of the most dangerous countries for aid workers.
President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar, former vice president of Kiir, agreed on a permanent ceasefire. week in neighboring Sudan after their first face-to-face interviews in nearly two years. Opposition spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said government forces and Sudanese rebel militias had launched a "joint attack" in Mboro, Wau County, in the northwest, around 7 pm hours of the morning. "The fight is still going on as I write," said Gabriel, calling on the UN peacekeeping mission and the ceasefire observers to investigate. The opposition reserved the right to self-defense, he added.
"It is disappointing that even when their president and commander-in-chief Salva Kiir declares a ceasefire, the regime's forces are still violating it." Associated Press. "It is possible that Salva Kiir does not control his forces or that he does not want peace to come."
Ateny Wek Ateny, spokesman for the South Sudanese government, told AP that the opposition had rather attacked. they are not controlled by anyone, the people of South Sudan should have the opportunity to lead a peaceful life, and the army observes the order of the president, it is very sad, "said Ateny The previous ceasefire in December was violated in a matter of hours, prompting the international community to threaten the United Nations and regional sanctions against those blocking the path to peace.
This time, Kiir and Machar faced embargo and sanctions if the fighting did not stop and that a political agreement was not reached on Saturday.
Concerned observers inside and out 39, outside the country, including the belligerents, have approached the last ceasefire with cautious optimism.A joint statement from the United States, Britain and Norway warned that the effects of Stop fighting must be perceived in the field: "This must lead to … the end of horrific abuses suffered by civilians. "
The latest talks between rivals have yet to agree on a power-sharing agreement, as the government has rejected the idea that Machar will become Kiir's deputy again. broke out between Kiir's supporters and his vice president Machar late 2013, just two years after the independence of South Sudan
A 2015 peace agreement brought Machar back to the position of vice president but the only one in the world. Agreement collapsed in July 2016 when new fighting erupted in the capital, Juba, Machar fleeing the country on foot through the bush in Congo.
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