Lt. Gen. Asrat Denero, the new Chairperson Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism [CTSAM-VM] - Courtesy

The Chairperson of the ceasefire monitoring body has postponed its technical committee meeting on Monday after SPLA-IO representatives in CTSAM-VM walked out over alleged attacks in Unity and Upper Nile states

Lieutenant General Asrat Denero says he will refer concerns raised by SPLM-IO to R-JMEC.

According to an Eye Radio reporter who covered the event, the meeting could not go as planned after SPLM-IO members under the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar protested alleged attacks on their bases in Unity and Upper Nile States by SSPDF, an allegation not yet confirmed.

They were supposed to discuss the implementation status of the security arrangements and review previous discussions, among others.

However, the opposition members boycotted the meeting and walked out when the discussion was about to start.

The ceasefire monitoring mechanism’s main mandate is to report to IGAD progress in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in South Sudan.

Its chairperson is tasked to continuously engage peace parties to adhere to the ceasefire deal, especially the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement which was signed in Khartoum, Sudan, in 2017.

However, Lieutenant General Asrat Denero says the concern raised by SPLM-IO members doesn’t fall under his docket and he will table it before the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.

“IO party members are not participating. For this issue, we will postpone the meeting and will discuss with the R-JMEC chairperson and IGAD and senior party members also. So this is not our mandate but R-JMEC will discuss and negotiate,” said Asrat Denero.

Asrat Denero went ahead to encourage the peace parties to embrace dialogue as the only way of solving their grievances.

“My suggestion is all parties, as African, even Ethiopia, this East Africa we have a lot of challenges, everywhere there are clashes, there is fighting, there are killing,”Asrat Denero said.

“The most important thing is we have to discuss, we have to sit together around the table and find the solution. So let us not go back to the fighting.”