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WORLD NEWS Friday 22 June 2018

South Sudan's armed opposition rejects 'imposition' of peace

By ELIAS MESERET the delivery of desperately
SAM MEDNICK needed aid.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) Kiir and Machar shook
— South Sudan's armed hands again Thursday as
opposition on Thursday re- regional heads of state and
jected any "imposition" of government discussed the
a peace deal and asked civil war. The East African
for more time after the first regional bloc, the Intergov-
face-to-face meeting be- ernmental Authority on De-
tween President Salva Kiir velopment, has led several
and rival Riek Machar in al- rounds of failed peace talks.
most two years. It was not clear whether Kiir
An opposition statement and Machar met privately
called Wednesday night's Thursday. "We cannot con-
meeting "cordial" and said tinue with business as usu-
the two sides discussed the al," Ethiopia's prime minister
prospects for peace "in told the gathering. "If ... the
broad terms." But it warned different parties are unwill-
that the current model for ing and unable to halt the
the peace process is "unre- suffering of their people,
alistic" and that "there is no we need to put them on
shortcut to peace." notice that we are ready
Kiir and Machar met in to act." The latest proposed
neighboring Ethiopia, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, right, is greeted by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, left, peace agreement seeks to
as he arrives at the office of Ethiopia's Prime Minister in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Wednesday, June
whose Prime Minister Abiy 20, 2018. give the vice presidency to
Ahmed invited them and Associated Press the opposition but doesn't
presided over discussions. indicate Machar by name,
Images showed the rivals war has continued despite lions have fled to create still in the country are near South Sudan's cabinet af-
being coaxed by Abiy into multiple attempts at peace Africa's largest refugee cri- famine, while the warring fairs minister, Martin Elia Lo-
an awkward hug. deals. Tens of thousands of sis since the 1994 Rwandan sides have been blamed moro, told The Associated
South Sudan's five-year civil people have died and mil- genocide. Millions of others for obstructing or slowing Press. q