By Jenifer James
The South Sudan ceasefire monitors have raised concerns over violations of the ceasefire. This comes in its board meeting number 50, where the members discussed the violation of the reports on Tuesday.
Speaking during the 50th meeting of the board members on Tuesday, the chairperson of the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), Maj Gen Yitayal Gelaw Bitew, said although the ceasefire was largely holding, it was concerned about the recent violation in Western Equatoria.
“It is with regret that I must inform you, as I did with the CTSAMVM Technical Committee, that for the first time in my tenure as chairman, the integrity of the ceasefire is not upheld across all of South Sudan. CTSAMVM is particularly concerned about ongoing armed clashes between two signatory parties between Western Equatoria and Western Bahr El Ghazal,” Yitayal said.
Yitayal said that CTSAMVM’s verification teams were alerted to reports of the clashes over the weekend of January 11 and 12, and consistent accounts from both parties and the civil society representatives indicated that the incidents were not isolated misunderstandings but rather a considered attack upon ceasefire partners.
“These exchanges of fire have tragically resulted in loss of life, injuries, and displacement among civilians and uniformed personnel. CTSAMVM has already addressed this issue with the Joint Monitoring and Coordination Office and the CTSAMVM Technical Committee; consequently, our Monitoring and Verification Teams from Wau and Yambio have been assigned to investigate the case,” Yitayal said.