BREAKING: Ceasefire under threat, could collapse – warns CTSAMVM
The permanent ceasefire dubbed the Khartoum Declaration of 27th June 2018 signed between warring parties is under threat and immense pressure according to the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMV).
The ceasefire monitors warned that the declaration which ushered in the revitalized peace agreement signed in February 2020, could collapse anytime.
“Pertaining to the very critical issue of the permanent ceasefire, there is a concern that the ceasefire is under pressure and could be fracturing,” Lt. Gen. Asrat Denero Amad, newly appointed CTSAMVM Chairperson, said Wednesday.
Addressing the CTSAMVM Technical Meeting in Juba, the Chairperson said: “There are areas where it [the permanent ceasefire] is apparently being undermined”.
According to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan Chapter II subsection 2.1, the ceasefire “shall be observed meticulously throughout the Republic of South Sudan to ensure sustainable peace, and facilitate the operationalization of the Transitional Security Arrangements and the voluntary repatriation, resettlement, rehabilitation, and reintegration of returnees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)”.
The ceasefire agreement, according to subsection 2.1.4, applies “to all forces of the warring parties and all other forces or militias allied to either party, and shall be based on the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities (CoHA), Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access of 21st December 2017, and its implementation modalities matrix”.
However, Denero, who took over from Maj Gen Teshome Gemechu Tuesday this week, said very little has been done by warring parties to respect the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement as clashes continue among armed groups in many parts of the country.
Notably, the Chairperson said there has been fighting in Torkech, Upper Nile State, between alleged SSPDF-aligned Kit Gwang and SPLM/A-IO forces.
He added that there have also been clashes in Upper Nile State between SPLM/A-IO forces and armed youth at Turu in which the SPLM/A-IO alleged that the SSPDF forces of Maj. Gen. Ochan have been involved.
The CTSAMVM Chairperson also noted that there has been fighting in the Mir Mir area in Unity State.
Both SPLA-IO and SSPDF forces have repeatedly accused each other of provoked attack with all sides claiming to have responded in self-defence.