South Sudan's Machar issues new demands as his return to Juba nears

The much-awaited return of South Sudan's vice-president designate Riek Machar hinges on the full demilitarization of Juba, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

The demand came after the rebel leader's Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM)-IO accused the South Sudan army of redeployment of its troops beyond the 25 km radius, violating the August 2015 peace deal.

Machar's Spokesperson James Gatdet Dak said Machar, who had indicated he will arrive in Juba on April 18, also demands to be sworn in immediately as First-Vice President designate and to also address a public rally on his return to Juba.

Machar indicated he will return to Juba on April 18 to form the interim unity government with President Salva Kiir, and afterwards meet Kiir to discuss outstanding issues.

"If the government agrees that he should take oath of office upon his arrival and that he should be allowed to conduct public rally on the peace agreement and its implementation, then definitely he is going to come on Monday," the spokesperson said in a statement issued in Juba.

He confirmed the SPLM-IO leader's presence at his headquarters in Pagak where he is consulting with his military generals about his return to Juba.

"He is telling them that on April 18, he is supposed to travel to Juba, if things go smoothly as planned and if his verification is done," added the spokesperson.

This came after the arrest of 19 rebel officials on Tuesday in Juba by security operatives on the accusation of mobilizing masses to welcome the SPLM-IO Deputy Chief Alfred Ladu Gore who returned to Juba.

The SPLM-IO advance team spokesperson William Ezekiel told Xinhua that they have been engaging government on the release of their officials in detention to no avail.

Government spokesperson Michael Makuei said Machar will only address the public and afterwards proceed to his home after his arrival.

Makuei added that Machar's swearing in and his meeting with Kiir will be done later on.

"Instead of squeezing it in one day, we have made it to be two days," Makuei said.

Festus Mogae, chairperson of the peace deal monitoring body, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, had proposed April 12 for Machar's return and April 14 for the inauguration of the transitional government, but Machar said the timetable was "not workable" hence preferring he returns on Monday next week.

Machar's 1,370 protection troops have arrived in Juba despite continued clashes between his troops with the SPLA in Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria regions, where government denies presence of rebels.

Civil war erupted in December 2013 when President Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the country along ethnic lines.

Source: XINHUA