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| Africa Horn |
| S.Sudan Rebel Chief Admits 'Not in Control' of Troops |
| 2014-06-01 |
| [An Nahar] The leader of South Sudan's rebels, former vice president Riek Machar, said Saturday he was not completely in charge of his forces, who have been accused of atrocities during a brutal six-month conflict. In an interview with Agence La Belle France Presse in Nairobi, Riek Machar was asked if he was in control of his troops and replied: "No, I can't say that. I would be lying to you if I did say that." "So I can't say I control them, but we are hoping we can control them because we are training them and we are disciplining them," added Machar. Machar's rebels have been battling forces loyal to President Salva Kiir since December 15, when fighting between rival army factions broke out in the capital Juba. Kiir accused Machar of having attempted a coup, but has in turn been accused of starting the war by launching a purge of his rivals. Machar admitted his forces had been cobbled together. "When did we become an army? We were forced out of Juba, those who rebelled ... It took us time to regroup them into a viable force under a control and command" (structure), Machar told AFP. "We also have volunteer fighters -- civilians who have their own guns -- who joined the war," he added. The two sides agreed a ceasefire in January and again earlier this month, but the truces have not held. The civil war has claimed thousands -- possibly tens of thousands -- of lives, with more than 1.3 million people forced to flee their homes. Some 75,000 people are also sheltering inside U.N. bases in fear of ethnic violence. Peace talks are scheduled to resume in the Æthiopian capital Addis Ababa next Wednesday, with the East African regional bloc IGAD -- of which Kenya is a member -- providing mediation. Speaking after talks in Nairobi with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Machar stressed he was "committed to peace" to end what he called a "senseless war" in the world's youngest country. |
| Posted by:Fred |