JUBA – Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has cautioned South Sudanese political leaders against resorting to military solutions in addressing political disagreements, warning that such an approach risks plunging the country back into large-scale conflict.
In a statement on Thursday, CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani, urged the political elites to adopt dialogue and consensus-building as the only sustainable path for transitioning the nation from violence to peace.
“The current trend of approaching the transition with military tactics rather than dialogue is dangerous and counterproductive,” Yakani said. “It only benefits spoilers of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), who thrive in instability.”
Yakani revealed that CEPO’s early warning system is projecting a “serious chance” of the country returning to war in the coming months. He pointed to recent official statements from rival parties, which he said carry worrying signals of an imminent relapse into full-scale conflict.
Parts of the country are already experiencing deadly confrontations between government forces, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), and opposition troops of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).
With these developments, Yakani appealed to President Salva Kiir to immediately commission an inclusive political dialogue to break the deadlock over the transitional process. He warned that continued resistance to dialogue only fuels armed struggles, prolonging instability and undermining hopes for lasting peace.
“The refusal to embrace inclusive dialogue is an open invitation to more conflict,” he emphasized. “It creates a fertile ground for those who believe that picking up arms is the only way to influence the political process.”
CEPO, he added, is committed to generating home-grown solutions by facilitating platforms for inclusive dialogue among political actors, communities, and civil society. Yakani stressed that if genuine political transition efforts fail, the blame will rest squarely on the shoulders of the political elites currently in power.
“Leaders must take responsibility,” Yakani said. “History will hold them accountable if they choose war over peace.”
