Watchdog warns SPLM-IO withdrawal from peace mechanisms threatens peace deal

JUBA – A South Sudanese civil society watchdog warned on Tuesday afternoon that the country’s revitalized peace agreement is at risk after the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) withdrew from key security mechanisms.

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) expressed “deep concern” over the SPLM-IO’s decision to suspend its participation in bodies including the Joint Defense Board and the Joint Military Ceasefire Committee.

The SPLM-IO announced on Monday night it would halt participation in the Joint Defense Board (JDB), High-Level Political Committee (HLPC), Joint Military Ceasefire Committee (JMCC), and Joint Transitional Security Committee (JTSC) until all its detained political and military officials are released.

CEPO’s Executive Director Edmund Yakani, in an email to Sudans Post, called the move a “serious injury act” to the peace process, urging President Salva Kiir and Machar to hold an urgent meeting to resolve their differences.

“The stoppage of the SPLM-IO participation in the national mechanisms for the implementation of the pending tasks of the political transitional process is really posing a threat to the fate of the R-ARCSS,” Yakani said, referring to the revitalized peace agreement.

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks, with the government detaining several SPLM-IO political and military officials in Juba and clashes erupting between the army and opposition-aligned militia in Nasir.

The SPLM-IO also accused the government of aerial bombardments in Nasir, which reportedly killed at least 15 people.

The opposition’s withdrawal from the peace mechanisms signals a deepening rift between the government and the SPLM-IO, raising fears of a return to conflict.

“The country is losing its face in front of the regional and international community,” Yakani said, calling on the leaders to demonstrate political will to save the peace process.