President Salva Kiir
WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it was “gravely disappointed” with South Sudan’s failure to form a unity government by a Nov 12 deadline and would “re-evaluate” its relationship with the African nation’s government.
“We will work bilaterally and with the international community to take action against all those impeding South Sudan’s peace process,” US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
She added that the United States would also seek “to establish a new paradigm to achieve peace and a successful political transition in South Sudan” with others in the region.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir and the country’s opposition leader Riek Machar agreed on a 100-day extension at a tripartite meeting in the Ugandan city of Entebbe on Nov 7, arranged by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
At the meeting, Kiir and Machar also agreed to submitting an implementation report after the first 50 days.
The UN chief welcomed the decision by an eastern African bloc to extend the pre-transitional period for an additional 100 days for South Sudan to form a national unity government.
“The secretary-general welcomes the decision of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers, further to the agreement by the South Sudanese parties under the auspices of Uganda and Sudan, to extend the pre-transitional period for an additional 100 days,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said at a news briefing.
The IGAD Council of Ministers on Nov 10 endorsed the 100-day extention for the formation of the South Sudan transitional government of national unity. — NNN-AGENCIES
