Machar will need joint security protection to visit forces – spokesman

JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition leader and the country’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny will need a joint security protection in order to visit his forces that are in several locations across the country, according to SPLA-IO spokesman Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel.

Several months ago, SPLA-IO Chief of General Staff wrote to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional bloc which mediated the revitalized peace agreement, to allow Machar to visit his forces in order to brief them on the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

Machar has however not taken the initiative to visit his forces with some suggesting that the main armed opposition leader was not still free despite regional assertion that it has no restrictions on the South Sudanese opposition leader.

“Forces are still not unified. Now if he wants to go to the field, which one will follow him? He is supposed to be given protection by the joint security and now others will regard this as house arrest. Machar is free to move. We don’t want him to begin visiting the field before unifying forces. Machar is still having full control of his forces,” Col. Lam said in an interview with Radio Tamazuj.

“Magenis is not the only location of the IO forces. Look at Equatoria. Is there any problem? Also, we have forces in Western Bahr el Ghazal state, is there any problem? But what I am sure of is that this issue will come to an end soon,” he added.