NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 11 – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is set to convene the 43rd Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government to address the evolving situation in South Sudan.
The regional bloc chaired by Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh said the Summit will be held virtually on Wednesday, 12th March 2025.
“IGAD, as the guarantor of the Revitalised Agreement (R-ARCSS), remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting dialogue, de-escalating tensions, and securing a peaceful future for the people of South Sudan,” read a statement from the bloc’s secretariat.
Fighting in recent days has threatened an already fragile peace deal between President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar (leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO).
President Salva Kiir has called for calm and made an assurance that the country would not return to war.
Tensions further escalated on Friday when a United Nations helicopter evacuating SSPDF soldiers came under fire, killing an army commander, a U.N. crew member, and others.
The violence comes after the arrest earlier last week of a deputy army chief and a minister allied with Machar. The SPLM-IO condemned the arrests as a “grave violation” of the 2018 peace deal, which ended a five-year civil war.
The peace agreement, signed by President Kiir and Machar, has faced significant challenges in implementation, particularly in forming a unified army.