S Sudan Opposition Rejects ’Imposition’ of Peace Deal

Local Editor

South Sudan's armed opposition on Thursday rejected any "imposition" of a peace deal and said more time is needed to secure lasting peace in the country.

It further announced that it would be necessary to address the root causes of a civil war after the first face-to-face meeting between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar in almost two years.

An opposition statement called Wednesday night's meeting "cordial" and said both sides discussed the prospects for peace "in broad terms". But it warned that the current model for the peace process is "unrealistic" and that "there is no shortcut to peace".

"For any meaningful dialogue to take place, it should be within the context of a comprehensive political settlement," the group said, pointing out that "the guns can fall silent and a conducive environment for dialogue established."

It said the solution to the five-year civil war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 3 million people to flee their homes, was to revisit the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [CPA].

The CPA was agreed in 2005 between Sudan and South Sudan that was aimed at ending the civil war in Sudan and paved the way for South Sudan to hold its ultimately successful secession.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team