Machar opposed to an all-out war against forces of George Athor Article Comments (67) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 6, 2011 (JUBA) – The vice president of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny, advised against carrying out an all-out war against the forces loyal to the renegade General George Athor Deng, saying he preferred pursuit of peaceful dialogue with the rebel leader. Riek Machar (L) stands next to Abraham Thon(R) a ranking representative of Gen. George Athor, who holds up a copy of the ceasefire agreement between the SPLA and Athor’s delegation in Juba, on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 (AP) Machar explained his position at a prayer gathering organized on Saturday in memory of hundreds of civilians killed in Jonglei’s Fangak County by forces of George Athor in January. The prayer was conducted at the residence of the minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management and representative of Fangak County in the parliament, James Kok Ruei. Several senior government officials and members of parliament representing all the ten states of South Sudan attended the prayers. The presidential advisor for legal affairs, Telar Deng Ring, while speaking at the occasion called on the government of South Sudan to launch a decisive military action against forces of George Athor. Telar said the offensive should be carried out before the rainy season and crush George Athor’s forces. There were also calls to withdraw the amnesty offered to the rebel leader by the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit. However, vice president Machar, during the same occasion, reiterated his opposition to such solution, and warned that the course of all-out war as an option would in the process turn into a tribal war that would engulf the whole of Jonglei state and spread to other states. He said this was not because Athor’s forces can overwhelm the SPLA, but reading the situation, the matter would no longer confine itself to fighting Athor’s forces, saying it can turn into tribal confrontations and mass killing of innocent civilians. "Today you may think it is the SPLA fighting George Athor’s forces, but tomorrow it can turn into tribal war which can spread and become difficult to contain,” he warned. Lt. Gen. Athor was the deputy Chief of General Staff for Political Orientation in the South Sudan army, but rebelled in April last year after losing gubernatorial elections to the incumbent governor of Jonglei state, Kuol Manyang Juuk. He accused the ruling SPLM of allegedly rigging the election in favor of his rival, Juuk. George Athor and his rival Kuol Manyang Juuk are both from the Dinka tribe, the largest community in South Sudan. They however come from different clans in the community. There are two other armed groups including David Yauyau, from the Murle tribe based in Pibor County, and the heavily armed Gabriel Tanginya, the from Nuer tribe. Tanginya (AKA Tang) announced late last year that he had joined the SPLA but his forces clashed in Upper Nile February over a dispute on what would happen to the after the South’s independence. George Athor is currently based in Fangak county. His forces have been accused of massacring over 100 people in clashes last month. All of these armed groups originate from Jonglei state. Machar maintained that the best way, despite Athor’s intransigence, is to continue pursuing a peaceful solution with the renegade general and convince him to abandon rebellion and return to the government. He said the amnesty was given to various armed groups with the aim to avoid the conflicts and achieve peace and stability in the region, especially at the critical period of transition to statehood. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
