An alliance of 18 opposition political parties has expressed support for the proposed inclusion of members of the troika as mediators in the next round of talks.

IGAD said last month that the next round of talks in Addis Ababa would involve members of the international community.

Five African countries have been added to what is known as the IGAD plus.

But the government has rejected participation of the Troika in the mediation process, saying they should remain as observers.

Information Minister Michael Makuei says the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom are calling for sanctions, which he says are not encouraging the peace process.

However, the chairman of the Political Parties Alliance and chairman of the SPLM-DC, Dr. Lam Akol, says the participation of the Troika will expedite the peace process.

“The government knows Troika has the muscle, so if it is a mediator, it cannot be pushed around for too long without something tangible happening,” Dr Akol argued.

“This is why they don’t want the Troika, not because they have a negative contribution to peace.”

Dr. Akol added that they want an honest mediator in the peace process to end the conflict.

The peace talks are expected to resume on Saturday in the Ethiopian capitla, Addis Ababa.