On Wednesday, the US proposed that the UN Security Council impose an arms embargo on South Sudan after Kiir’s decision not to sign the peace deal.
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We actually don’t know what did Kiir refused to stop this bloody conflict which claimed thousands of lives let alone the huge numbers of displaced and the decline of oil revenues which is considered the only source for South Sudan economy.
Rebel forces led by former Vice President Riek Machar have also been accused of killing civilians in cold blood and attacking places of worship.
Kiir asked for another 15 days of discussions, shrugging off pressure to meet a Monday deadline. One of his ministers had escribed the peace accord as a “sell-out.”
A member of the mediation team from regional bloc IGAD told Reuters that Kiir, who only initialled the deal, rather than signing it as Machar did, had reservations about a provision in the plan to demilitarise the capital, Juba.
Pagan Amum, the secretary-general of South Sudan’s ruling social gathering, and insurgent chief Riek Machar, signed a draft settlement committing them to peace, however the authorities stated it wanted 15 extra days to finalise a deal.
Mesfin said IGAD had set Monday as a deadline after which the warring parties would face global sanctions if they failed to strike a deal.
“More and more independent voices are being silenced in South Sudan at this critical time in the country’s history, when the public desperately needs independent, impartial information”, said Rhodes.
Aguer, however, said the government was in control of Pageri.
The US State Department said Kiir had told Secretary of State John Kerry that he has “every intention” of signing the agreement.
South Sudan’s war largely pits Kiir’s Dinka followers against Machar’s Nuer allies. Both sides engaged in attrition wars despite ceasefire deals being signed.
Oliver Modi, chairman of the South Sudan Union of Journalists, said, “It is very serious that, this year, Peter is number seven who was killed in cold blood”. “And it would eventually, it definitely transform South Sudan into a new paradigm, into a new political dispensation where at the end of the transition we hope an elected government will take responsibility in leading the country”, noted Seyoum.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says security agents shut down two privately owned newspapers earlier this month as well as a media group that produced a popular radio series.
