Tut Gatluak, presidential head of National Transitional Committee Credit | Gore Anthony/SSBC

The head of the National Transitional Committee has appealed to the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance to cease hostilities and rejoin the peace process.

Last week, SSOMA said it will boycott the next round of talks with the government in Rome.

The talks between the government and the opposition movements alliance were scheduled for between May 8 and May 12 in the Italian capital Rome.

But in a press statement, SSOMA said it was protesting the killing of General Abraham Wani Yoane at his home in Kampala last month.

General Wani was the Chief of Staff of the South Sudan National Movement for Change which is part of SSOMA.

In a statement to the media in Juba on Tuesday, the chairperson of the National Transitional Committee of the revitalized peace deal, Tut Gatluak urged the hold-out groups to return to the table.

“As a government, we are ready to dialogue and negotiate with anyone for peace and stability in this country. We don’t want war anymore,” he affirmed.

Mr. Gatluak who is also the Presidential Advisor on Security stated that “we want to assure our people in South Sudan that this year is the year of peace.”

He particularly called on General Thomas Cirilo and General Paul Malong to rejoin the peace process “to ensure that we end the violence across the country with holdout groups.”

SSOMA is a coalition of opposition groups led by notable generals Thomas Cirillo, Paul Malong, Pagan Amum, and other leaders engaged in peace talks with the government of South Sudan.

The Saint-Egidio-led mediation is aimed at supporting an inclusive peace agreement in South Sudan by persuading the hold-out groups to join the revitalized peace deal signed in September 2018.

The political dialogue seeks to address what the opposition groups called “the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan” and facilitate further reconciliation and stability.