IGAD tells parties to end culture of defections, urges boycott of defectors  

ADDIS ABABA – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which mediated the 2018 revitalized peace agreement has expressed concerns over recent fighting in Central Equatoria state between SPLA-IO and forces belong to a former SPLA-IO commander who defected to SSPDF last week.

Yesterday, the SPLA-IO issued a statement saying Major-General Moses Lokujo who defected to South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) on September 21, attacked their base with the help of government forces accusing them of aiming at dislodging them from a cantonment site there.

South Sudan army chief General Johnson Juma on Tuesday called for calm and urged the soldiers on the ground to refrain from further escalatory actions warning the defecting officer that the youngest country’s army does not condone what he said is criminality.

In a statement this afternoon, the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, Ambassador Ismail Wais, said the regional block is dismayed over the fighting and urged the parties to refrain from further escalation.

“IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan is dismayed by reports of fighting between forces affiliated to Gen. Moses Lokujo and SPLM/A-IO forces in Endejo in Yei River area on 29th September 2020. It will be recalled that Gen. Lokujo recently announced his defection from SPLM/A-IO to the SSPDF,” the statement extended to Sudans Post partly reads in part.

“The Special Envoy is further alarmed by reports that the conflict has spilled over to Moroto, which hosts a Training Centre where unified forces of SSPDF, SPLM/A-IO and SSOA are training,” it added.

He urged the parties to desist from activities that may jeopardize the peace process saying defectors should not be welcomed by either parties if the implementation of the agreement is to be implemented without further jeopardy.

“The Special Envoy also calls on the Parties to the Agreement to put an end to the sustained culture of defections and desist from recognizing and supporting defectors from Parties to the Agreement with armed forces as it is significantly undermining the implementation of the Agreement and has the potential to reignite conflicts in the country if it is allowed to continue unabated,” the statement said.

“In this regard, the Special Envoy is encouraged by and commends the swift measure taken by the JDB leadership in convening an emergency meeting that condoned the attack and vowed to summon the officers responsible for the confrontation, and resolved to send a fact-finding mission to the area to investigate and report on what transpired.  The Special Envoy urges CTSAMVM to immediately dispatch a team to investigate and verify the reports,” the statement further said.