By Kei Emmanuel Duku
National Salvation Front (NAS) leader, General Thomas Cirillo has shown interest to engage in direct peace negotiations with South Sudan government.
Gen. Cirillo held a two-day meeting the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Special Envoy, Ambassador Ismail Wais, from 19th to 20th March in Rome, Italy.
In the meeting, General Cirillo agreed that the IGAD Special Envoy, in conjunction with the Community of Sant’Egidio, should facilitate a pre-consultative meeting with South Sudan government. This aims to resolve the challenges facing South Sudanese citizens.
Kenya Ambassador to Italy, Fredrick Matwang’a. Matwang’a who was also present in the meeting highlighted his country’s commitment, as well as the regional and international interest in resolving the South Sudan conflict.
The move by Gen. Thomas Cirillo, who also heads the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA), is viewed as a potentially significant development for South Sudan’s protracted peace process.
Gen. Cirillo’s commitment to fresh peace talks with the government comes after months of stalled talks and growing international pressure to find a lasting resolution to the conflict.
The two days meeting in Rome, marks a renewed effort to bring all parties and non-signatories to the 2018 peace agreement to the negotiating table.
The talks, facilitated by the Community of Sant’Egidio, underscored IGAD’s commitment to achieving an inclusive and sustainable peace process in South Sudan.
However, a significant challenge remains, the trust issue between the government and NAS, as previous peace agreements have been repeatedly violated.
Peace actors say the success of these negotiations depends on the willingness of both sides to compromise and implement any agreements reached.
While the venue for the talks between the government and General Cirillo remains undisclosed, it is worth noting that towards the end of last year, General Cirillo expressed reservations about the ongoing peace initiatives, particularly the Tumaini Initiative in Nairobi, citing concerns about inclusivity and security.
The South Sudan peace talks, previously facilitated by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, were moved to Nairobi, Kenya, under the Tumaini Initiative led by Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto.
However, General Cirillo refused to join the Tumaini Initiative, stating that the peace talks were moved to Nairobi without proper consultations.
He further added that the Nairobi talks are merely a continuation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, which he did not support, and demands a thorough and separate peace deal to address the current challenges facing the R-TGoNU.