By Bida Elly David
The Vice President for service cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol said the African Union(AU) has planned to exclude South Sudan from the list of conflicting countries in Africa and vowed to aid the Country in disarmament process.
VP Abdelbagi disclosed the AU decision to scrap South Sudan name off the “list of conflicting countries in Africa” during a meeting with President Salva Kiir at the State house (J1) following his return from the 36th African Union meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after representing the government of South Sudan.
Abdelbagi briefed the president that the AU summit discussed ways through which African leaders would team up to end brutal conflicts in some countries.
He echoed that African Union after their evaluation noticed that South Sudan after experiencing several conflicts has started gaining amity for this reason; they have considered eliminating it from the list of conflict ruin nations.
He added that the Union further recommended initiation of dialogue to quell the security situation that has been impeding Democratic Republic of Congo.
Vice president Hussein also told President Kiir that, the AU resolved that South Sudan will fully participate in mediation process between the government of Congo and their rivals.
Moreover, Abdelbagi said that the African Union commended South Sudan for the positive move on the on-going implementation of the roadmap in regards to the deployment of the first phase of the graduated necessary unified forces and the strategy to graduate the second batch of the unified forces.
“The African Union had agreed to exclude South Sudan from the list of conflict-affected countries and that the Union will support South Sudan in carrying out disarmament process to reduce the number of weapons available in wrong hands,” the presidential Facebook page quoted Abdelbagi Akol.
He also disclosed that the leaders talked about the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and called on the East African countries to initiate dialogue for stability and prosperity of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Abdelbagi underscored that the AU further discussed the challenges that the continent faces particularly in security, health and economic sectors and resolved how leaders would practically restore the turmoil.
He added that the summit agreed to strengthen the week African countries within the Continent with necessary support to experience progress.
On his part, President Salva Kiir commended Vice president Hussein Abdelbagi for the affirmative report from the African Union’s summit as well as extended words of thanks to the Union for having acknowledged and stood for South Sudan during hard flashes.
However, atrocities witnessed during the 2013-2018 war era including sexual gender-based violence amid escalating subnational violence in some parts of the country and deliberate starvation are still taking place, experts say.
A UN human rights expert on South Sudan, Barney Afako told reporters in Juba after visiting South Sudan in February that conflict never stopped.
“In terms of the violence in the country — we are not seeing improvements,” he said. Adding that “Juba is safer… but we are concerned about what’s happening outside of Juba.”
This February, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) warned that armed forces were again mobilizing in Upper Nile state, where artillery and rockets have pounded villages in major offensives involving thousands of troops.
Meanwhile in Jonglei and Greater Pibor areas, waves of heavily-armed youth have carried off women and children in bloody raids targeting their ethnic opponents in recent months.