Somalia President Hassan Sheikh calls for calmness in South Sudan

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has asked warring factions in South Sudan to embrace dialogue, noting that there is an urgent need to prevent escalation of violence in Africa's youngest nation which is struggling for stability.

President Salva Kiir is entangled in a bitter fallout with Vice President Riek Machar, with the respective communities of these leaders engaging in violence, leading to the displacement of thousands of people. Several deaths have been recorded as well.

In a phone conversation however, Hassan Sheikh, whose country is also struggling for stability, reached out to both Machar and Kiir, asking them to embrace dialogue for the sake of preventing escalation of the conflict which spiralled to a number of states.

"Today, I spoke with President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar about the security situation in South Sudan," said Hassan Sheikh. "Somalia stands in full solidarity with the people of South Sudan and remains committed to supporting efforts for a peaceful and lasting resolution."

On Sunday, the U.S. State Department on Sunday ordered nonemergency government personnel to leave South Sudan's capital as tension escalated because of fighting in the north. The travel advisory issued on Sunday stated that fighting was ongoing and that "weapons are readily available to the population."

Several government ministers were arrested when a group known as the White Army triggered violence in sections of the country. Those arrested but have since been released, are directly associated with Riek Machar, whose political marriage with Kiir has significantly declined.

Machar's home was surrounded by the army as his supporters said that the arrests were threatening the country's peace agreement. The agreement was signed in 2018 after 5 years of the civil war but the two parties treat each other with contempt.

On Friday, an attack on a U.N helicopter that was on an evacuation mission in the north complicated the security situation and a U.N rights body said that it was "considered a war crime."

The U.N Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Saturday said that the violence in the north and tension in Juba, the capital, was "threatening to derail" South Sudan's peace agreement, Voice of America reports.

"We are witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress. Rather than fueling division and conflict, leaders must urgently refocus on the peace process, uphold the human rights of South Sudanese citizens, and ensure a smooth transition to democracy," said the chairperson, Yasmin Sooka.

GAROWE ONLINE