Ceasefire monitors call for restraint after fighting displaces thousands

South Sudan's ceasefire monitors on Wednesday urged warring parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to dialogue after the recent clashes in Jonglei State between warring parties forced about 200,000 people to flee into neighboring Ethiopia.



Teshome Anagawe Ayana, chairperson of the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), reminded the warring parties of their obligation to protect civilians under the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

"The last 12 months have been marked by repeated attacks on the peace agreement. We cannot, and must not, accept the widespread violence. The premise of the agreement rests on the understanding that signatory parties must work together in good faith to transition away from a state of conflict towards a state of peace," Ayana said during the meeting of ceasefire monitors in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.