From All Africa via The Sudan Tribune

Senior officials from South Sudan’s rebel diplomatic mission to Uganda have praised a recent agreement brokered by regional leaders between the country’s warring parties as an important step towards restoring peace.

In an interview with Sudan Tribune on Monday, Otim David, who heads the rebel diplomatic mission in Kampala, said the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which is mediating peace talks, must continue to exert pressure on the government to end the ongoing crisis.

David accused president Salva Kiir of trying to bulldoze peace negotiations, saying the recent decision showed that IGAD member states could take a united stance.

“If the regional leaders come together harmoniously and speak as a voice, definitely peace will come to South Sudan and prevail over president Salva Kiir to tell him that the country is not bigger than [the] individual,” he said.

“The spirit I saw recently in Addis Ababa is the good spirit we need to take it forward,” he added.

He said negotiations in the past had been hampered by regional alliances and loyalties, accusing some regional leaders of IGAD member states of being driven by self-interest rather than resolving the ongoing conflict.

Read more at All Africa