South Sudan: Bishops’ Alarm On the Situation in Sudan and South Sudan

Juba — “With the recurrent postponements of democratic elections in South Sudan, the hope for sustainable peace is waning,” warn the Bishops of South Sudan and Sudan at the end of their meeting on peace in the two countries in Kit, in the South Sudanese state of Eastern Equatoria.

South Sudan is facing the challenges of the civil war that broke out in December 2013 and which saw President Salva Kiir against Vice President Riek Machar. In 2018, the warring parties signed another agreement for the resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, R-ARCSS), which referred to the previous agreement signed in 2015 but never implemented.

The R-ARCSS was joined by the Tumaini Consensus, a memorandum of understanding signed by the transitional government and the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA). These agreements called for general elections to be held this year, but have been postponed until February 2027. The bishops call on “the Government of South Sudan and the opposition groups to speed up the implementation of the milestones of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and the speedy conclusion of the expected 2024 Tumaini Consensus without further delay.”

They also call for the rapid adoption of a new constitution and appeal to the international community to continue to support South Sudan’s efforts to achieve stability and development. Meanwhile, on November 21, a shootout broke out in the South Sudanese capital Juba following the attempted arrest of the former head of the National Security Service (NSS), Akol Koor Kuc. The latter headed the NSS from 2011 until early October, when he was dismissed by President Kiir. The dismissal of the former intelligence chief is, according to independent observers, an indication of an internal power struggle within the Kiir regime.

With regard to the situation in Sudan, which has been devastated by the civil war that broke out on April 15, 2023, the bishops recall that “thousands of Sudanese have lost their lives, and millions have since fled their homes to seek refuge in relatively peaceful states or in neighboring countries. The humanitarian consequences on the civilians have gone beyond toleration and must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.” They therefore call on “the warring parties and their supporters from both sides to respect humanitarian law and desist from blocking humanitarian corridors for lifesaving assistance”.

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