S. Sudan Officials Pull Out Of Kiir's Camp

A South Sudan lawmaker, army commander and a retired diplomat on Saturday declared their defection to the opposition in their country, accusing the government of Juba of instigating conflict.



Henry Dillah, a member of South Sudan's parliament, Makuer Mabor, an army commander in Lakes State, and Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, South Sudan's former ambassador at the United Nations, described the government of South Sudan President Salva Kiir as "authoritarian."



They accused Kiir of lacking the necessary will to put an end to the conflict in his fledging country.



"These are the reasons why we have joined the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) headed by comrade Riek Machar," Dillah said during a press conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.



He said he was a member of parliament for constituency no. 9 in Eastern Equatorial until two days ago, but decided to change sides in order to force Kiir to step down.



The SPLM-IO has been fighting against the Juba government for almost a year now since an attempted coup in the poor African country.



Kiir came out in December of last year and said that his army had succeeded in foiling an attempt by some army officers to stage a coup against his government.



Led by ex-vice president Riek Marchar, the insurgency has cost South Sudan thousands of lives. Hundreds of thousands of people were also displaced in different parts of South Sudan.



The two sides have come together for African Union-sponsored peace talks in Addis Ababa, but the talks had produced no results so far.



Mabor accused Kiir of failing to abide by the constitution, noting that this failure had led to the current turbulence in South Sudan in general and the Lakes State in particular.



"Lakes State has been deserted by intellectuals, traditional chiefs, spiritual leaders and members of parliament," Mabor said.



He added that these people had left the state for fear of being targeted and killed by Kiir-appointed governors, describing these governors as "brutal."



Di-Aping said altering the plight of South Sudan made it necessary for President Kiir to step down.



"The rule of the President must end in a way or another," Di-Aping said.



Seleshi Tessema



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Addis Ababa