South Sudan: SPLM-In Opposition rebel leader Riek Machar declares cessation of hostilities
The leader of the main rebel group in South Sudan (SPLM-In Opposition) has issued an order declaring a cessation of hostilities with the government forces, despite reports of continued fighting in several parts of the country after the signing of the ceasefire in Addis Ababa.
Rebel leader Riek Machar, through the order he issued on Friday 22, 2017, said the declaration was in adherence to the agreement on cessation of hostilities which his group had signed with other groups, including those in the government as part of the regional efforts to end the war.
“I am hereby ordering all forces to cease all hostilities, to remain in their bases and to act only in self-defence or against any aggression”, the order seen by Sudan Tribune reads in part.
The truce which the parties signed on Thursday evening in the Ethiopian capital will take hold at midnight on Sunday 24, 2017. It is unclear whether the parties would observe what they have signed after reports started emerging on Friday morning of attacks on positions held by rival groups in Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria.