Johannesburg – The president of South Sudan held talks with his South African counterpart on the ongoing conflict in Juba’s northern neighbour and the fragile peace process at home, Pretoria said on Wednesday.
Presidents Salva Kiir and Cyril Ramaphosa were expected to discuss “issues of mutual concern… and the ongoing conflict” in Sudan, the South African presidency said in a statement.
The two leaders were also expected to examine progress on the implementation of the “revitalised” peace agreement in South Sudan.
The crisis unfolding in neighbouring Sudan, South Sudan’s northern neighbour, has forced more than 100 000 South Sudanese refugees to flee back to their homeland.
The exodus has raised fears of fresh ethnic clashes, the UN has said, with 13 people killed at a civilian protection camp earlier this month.
After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into a civil war that left nearly 400 000 people dead and millions displaced between 2013 and 2018.
A peace agreement signed in 2018 provided a power-sharing agreement between Kiir and his rival Riek Machar in a government of national unity.
But tensions remain and local armed groups continue to menace the world’s newest country.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told AFP there would be no media coverage of the talks.
Juba arrested seven journalists in January as part of an investigation into the source of a video clip purportedly showing 71-year-old Kiir urinating on himself. The journalists were released in March.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@PresidencyZA
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