Malong, Pagan travel to Rome as 4-day talk with government starts tonight

JUBA – South Sudan holdout opposition leaders, General Paul Malong Awan, and Pagan Amum Okiech, have traveled to the Italian capital Rome for talks with the government of South Sudan which are due to begin tonight for four days, a senior opposition officer close to Malong has said.

Malong is the leader of the holdout opposition South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A) while Pagan is the leader of the Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (Real-SPLM) and the two groups make up one faction of the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA).

Talks were initially slated for the first week of July, but the government in mid-June wrote to the Sant’Egidio mediation of Rome asking for postponement of the talks as minister of presidential affairs who is the chief negotiator on the government side was assigned to the organization of independence celebrations.

Speaking to Sudans Post this morning, Major-General Dickson Gatluak Jock Nyuot,  a senior member of the South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A) led by General Paul Malong Awan said General Malong left the Kenyan capital Nairobi heading to Rome where he will meet Pagan before the two could meet government delegations.

“The Chairman and Commander in Chief has left this morning heading to Rome where he will be meeting – alongside Cde Pagan Amum, the Chairman of the Real SPLM, with the government delegation over the peace negotiation,” Gatluak told said from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

“He already left this morning and he Cde Pagan is meeting Cde Malong there; the two principals will attend the talks. Talks will start tonight, July 14, 2021 and end on Sunday, July 18, 2021,” he added.