August 22, 2016 (JUBA) –
The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, said Monday in Nairobi that the appointment of South Sudanese First Vice President Taban Deng Gai to succeed Riek Machar was “legal” under the provisions of the 2015 peace agreement.
- President Salva Kiir with US secretary of state John Kerry as they hold a bilateral meeting at the US-Africa Business Forum in Washington on 5 August 2014 (Photo: Reuters/Jim Bourg)
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US official says appointment of S. Sudan’s first VP “legal”
Speaking to reporters after meeting five foreign ministers of Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia Kerry said the US backed protection force has limited definition and scope with respect to restoring peace in the country.
“With respect to Machar, it’s not up to the United States; it’s up to the leaders of South Sudan and the people of South Sudan and the political parties and the political process, and their neighbors, to weigh in on what is best or not best with respect to Machar,” said Kerry when asked by a reporter to comment on the controversial replacement of the armed opposition leader and former South Sudanese First Vice President, Riek Machar.
He said the process leading to Machar’s replacement with Gai has not broken any law.
“I think it’s quite clear that legally, under the agreement, there is allowance for the replacement in a transition of personnel, and that has been effected with the appointment of a new vice president. And what they decide to do is going to be dependent on them in the context of the implementation of the peace agreement,” he added.
Gai was appointed by section of the SPLM IO leaders in Juba in July after Machar fled the South Sudanese capital following four days of fighting between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir.
The United Nations Security Council passed a U.S drafted resolution early this month to send a strong 4,000 protection force to Juba to boast UN peacekeepers in the country with a new mandate to response forcefully to any anti-peace elements in the government or armed opposition.
“With respect to the protection force, let me make it clear: The protection force is limited by definition, not a response to the overall crisis within the country as a whole, because clearly, there are many people with weapons in many parts of the country, and a protection force of 4,000 people will not have the capacity to cover all those bases,” the top U.S. diplomat said.
“But the hope is that with a transitional government that is now committed to the full implementation of the peace agreement and that has already begun to implement that peace agreement, that a force with a presence in Juba itself, which is where most of the violence took place during the last round, will be able to guarantee access for everybody, and that includes people trying to prevent the violence,” he added.
According to the UNSC, the protection force will be deployed in Juba by September 15. South Sudanese government said it has not made a decision to reject or accept the extra force that will increase UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to 17,000 troops.
Machar in Khartoum for “medical treatment”, says Sudan’s Minister of Information
August 23, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese government on Tuesday revealed that the former First Vice-President of South Sudan and armed opposition leader Riek Machar is in Khartoum saying Juba was notified that he has been received for pure humanitarian reasons.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit sacked Machar from his post as vice president after a renewal last month of fighting between forces loyal to the long-time rivals that forced tens of thousands of people to flee.
The Kenyan Standard news website on Thursday reported that the Sudanese government had sent an aircraft to evacuate the former first vice president from a hideout in a remote town in the DRC where he crossed into after 40 days in the bushes.
However, an SPLM-IO official told Sudan Tribune that the report published by the Kenyan website was “unfounded.”
In a statement to the official news agency (SUNA) on Tuesday, Sudan’s Minister of Information Ahmed Belal Osman said Sudan has recently received Machar for medical treatment, pointing he arrived in a critical health condition and needed immediate care.
However, Osman didn’t mention when Machr has arrived in Khartoum.
“Machar’s health is stable currently and he will remain in the country under comprehensive healthcare until he leaves to a destination of his choice to complete his treatment,” he added.
The United Nations had earlier announced that Machar was received by one of the neighboring countries for the medical reasons.
The Sudanese minister further stressed that South Sudan’s government has been notified of Machar’s presence in Khartoum for pure humanitarian reasons.Machar’s presence in Khartoum coincides with the visit of Taban Deng Gai who replaced him as First Vice President of South Sudan.
SOURCE – SUDAN TRIBUNE (ST)
![File photo: South Sudan's Riek Machar [Jok Solomun/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdmegaxxlarge/mritems/Images/2016/8/2/2e34a57fee0649f985d2ba93e9e75079_9.jpg?resize=463%2C115 "South Sudan's Riek Machar in Khartoum for medical care")
South Sudan’s Riek Machar in Khartoum for medical care
South Sudan opposition leader will remain in Sudan’s capital for medical treatment, the Sudanese government says.
File photo: South Sudan’s Riek Machar [Jok Solomun/Reuters]
South Sudan opposition leader Riek Machar has arrived in Khartoum for medical treatment, according to Sudanese officials, days after fleeing to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following deadly clashes last month.
“Sudan has received, lately, Dr Riek Machar, for pure humanitarian reasons, especially his need for treatment and medical care,” Sudan’s Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said on Tuesday.
“Dr Riek Machar’s health is stable currently and he will remain in the country under comprehensive healthcare until he leaves to a destination of his choice,” Osman told state media.
Hundreds died last month – and tens of thousands displaced – when forces loyal to Machar clashed with President Salva Kiir’s government troops in South Sudan’s capital, Juba.
South Sudan violence raises fears of war
Following the fierce fighting, Machar withdrew to the bush with his forces and was later replaced as vice president by party rival Taban Deng Gai.
Sudan’s announcement of Machar’s presence in the Sudanese capital on Tuesday comes just a day after Deng wrapped up his first official visit to Khartoum.
Aides of Marchar confirmed last week that he had left South Sudan and was in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. It was also reported that Machar had a leg injury, though it was not believed to be serious.
South Sudan was founded with optimistic celebrations in the capital on July 9, 2011, after it gained independence from Sudan in a referendum that passed with close to 100 percent of the vote.
Two years later, a brutal civil war erupted between supporters of newly-formed South Sudan’s President Kiir and Machar. The two sides reached a peace deal in 2015, under which Machar returned to Juba to resume his role as vice president, but last month’s fighting threatened to send the country back to all-out civil war.
The UN Security Council voted on Friday to authorise sending an extra 4,000 troops to the country to bolster the existing UN mission.
South Sudan officials said they were considering the UN proposal.
SOURCE : AL JAZEERA
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