ADDIS ABABA
South Sudanese rebels have defended their recent recapture of a northern town on the Ethiopian border from government forces, pointing to repeated violations by both sides of a January ceasefire deal.
"The fall of Nasir into the hands of opposition forces yesterday should be seen within the bigger picture," rebel spokesman Jooyul Yol told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
"The ceasefire [signed in January in Addis Ababa] has been violated many times," he said on the sidelines of a meeting in the Ethiopian capital between rebel leader Riek Machar and representatives of the Arab League.
Before the recapture of Nasir, Yol said, "the South Sudanese government was rearming itself and there was a large shipment of arms from the port of Mombassa [bound for Juba]."
"That was a very negative indication that the government believes in war," he said.
South Sudan collapsed into chaos late last year when President Salva Kiir accused Machar, his sacked vice president, of attempting to overthrow his regime.
Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese have since been displaced in subsequent fighting, while large swathes of the population remain on the brink of humanitarian catastrophe.
Peace talks sponsored by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a Djibouti-based East Africa trading bloc, are currently stalled.
No date has been set for their resumption, even though the two sides had agreed to form a transitional government within 60 days of signing a June 10 agreement.
The rebel spokesman said Monday's meeting was aimed at encouraging various stakeholders to join peace talks.
"We were engaged with the African Union," he said, adding: "Engaging Egypt and the Arab League was a very important step."
"They [the African Union, Arab League and Egypt] could help push the peace process forward," he said. "The Arab League has been very engaged in Sudan and South Sudan before the war and after the war; we would like to use that diplomacy."
"The Arab League… will play a major role in the peace process. They could use their leverage to influence friends that are supporting the IGAD peace process," he added.
"We aren't vying for a new peace process, but we want the influence within the IGAD peace process," he said.
Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed Idris, for his part, reiterated Egypt's support for IGAD's peacemaking efforts.
"We supported the IGAD effort from the beginning of the conflict," Idris said.
"We are keen to remain in contact with all parties so as to be updated on developments on the ground and the progress of negotiations and to explore how we can support the peace process," he added.
The Egyptian diplomat said that Egypt wanted to see the South Sudanese conflict resolved with a view to preventing any further loss of life.
By Addis Getachew
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
