SPLA faction says it should be part of deal with Ethiopia

Photo: Hailemariam Desalegn and Salva Kiir in Juba in October, 2016 (Radio Tamazuj)

The SPLA-IO faction, allied to former first vice president Riek Machar, said the recent cooperation agreements between South Sudan and Ethiopia will not be implemented fully without a comprehensive peace agreement in the country.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Dickson Gatluak, Deputy Military Spokesman of the SPLA-IO forces, said that the SPLA-IO faction loyal to Riek Machar is controlling most of the areas along the border with Ethiopia, saying the two countries cannot implement the agreements without involving his group.

Radio Tamazuj quoted Gatluak as saying that the recent cooperation agreements between South Sudan and Ethiopia will not be implemented if there is no peace in the country.

President Kiir and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn have recently signed several bilateral agreements among them the construction of roads linking the two countries. Memorandum of Understandings on border control, health, energy, and communications were also signed, according to the report.