Sudan Opposition Alliance Mediates to Defuse Crisis in South Sudan

Gier Chuang Aluong, a former minister in the South Sudan government, has been arrested in connection with an attempted coup on December 15, 2013., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2013

Sudan opposition alliance mediates to defuse crisis in South Sudan

December 18, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan’s opposition alliance, National Consensus Forces (NCF), has disclosed that it is communicating with influential figures in South Sudan and Juba’s ambassador to Khartoum, Mayan Dot Wool, to defuse the current crisis following the recent bloody events in the fledgling state.

Chairman of the opposition National Consensus Forces Faruq Abu Issa (ST)
Last weekend clashes erupted between military units that the government in Juba called a coup attempt and blamed it on former vice-president Riek Machar and other senior officials from the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

United Nations peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told a closed session of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday that according to local sources, local hospitals have recorded about 500 deaths and 800 injuries.

NCF chairman Faroug Abu Issa told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that they sympathise with the people of South Sudan and demanded that conflicting parties put an end to the fighting and enter dialogue to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis.

He said that president Salva Kiir Mayardit and his cabinet had welcomed NCF’s offer to mediate between conflicting parties within the SPLM, which was initially made to Kiir during his recent visit to Khartoum.

Issa said that they are closely following the situation in South Sudan despite difficulties in communications, stressing that mediation efforts would not interfere with South Sudan’s internal affairs.

He expressed hope that unity could be restored, stressing the importance of a democratic regime that recognises ethnic, cultural, and political pluralism.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July 2011 after the South Sudanese voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. The world’s newest nation quickly became the 193rd member of the United Nations and 54th member of the African Union (AU).

Issa pointed out that the conflicting leaders in Juba are friends and colleagues of NCF leaders, adding that instability in South Sudan would endanger Sudan.

(ST)