South Sudan president appoints rebel leader his deputy

KAMPALA, Uganda – South Sudan’s president appointed his fierce rival as his deputy in a possible government of national unity, raising hopes for peace even as the rebels described the move as inconsequential.

President Salva Kiir expects rebel leader Riek Machar to travel to South Sudan to become the country’s first vice-president, presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told The Associated Press Friday.

“I don’t see any reason why he should not come to Juba,” Ateny said, referring to the South Sudanese capital. “If there is a reason, then he should tell the world.”

Machar’s appointment “will have no impact on the formation of the government,” said James Gatdet Dak, a spokesman for Machar, who has been living in Ethiopia.

“The appointment has come as a surprise because of the wrong sequence, but we have accepted it, and we have welcomed it, and it is in line with the implementation of the peace agreement,” he said. “Only it comes at the wrong time.”

He added: “We thought (Machar) should have arrived first in Juba and then be appointed.”

Implementation of the peace agreement, signed in August, has stalled because Kiir ordered the creation of 28 states from the existing 10, undermining a power-sharing provision in the deal that gave Machar’s side control of two of the original states. Machar also wants the government to pull its troops from Juba, as called for in the peace deal.

The U.N. on Friday welcomed the appointment and urged Machar to return to Juba, the spokesman for the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters.

Sporadic fighting has continued between government forces and rebels in some parts of the oil-producing East African country.

Machar had been Kiir’s deputy until July 2013, when his firing triggered a political crisis that later boiled over into a rebellion following a violent split among the security forces in Juba. Some of the fighting was along ethnic lines, and both sides have been accused of carrying out serious crimes against civilians.

Despite the peace accord, both sides continue to seek new weapons, according to a report released last month by a U.N. panel of experts.

The panel said that as of mid-September, South Sudan’s government was apparently trying to arrange payment for four attack helicopters from a Uganda-based company, Bosasy Logistics. The rebels have received ammunition and arms from neighbouring Sudan, the report said.

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Patinkin reported from Juba, South Sudan. Cara Anna in New York contributed to this report.

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