IGAD-plus mediate South Sudan peace talk in Addis Ababa -Coastweek -

ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia (Xinhua) -- Under the mediation of the IGAD-Plus, the South Sudan peace negotiation kicked off on Thursday in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.The East African bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been mediating the peace process of South Sudan towards ending the crisis erupted since mid-December in 2013 in the world’s youngest nation. .

In this latest round of peace talks, participants in the South Sudan peace process will, for some days, deliberate on the IGAD-Plus proposal, the Compromise Agreement on the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan.At the recently convened meeting in Addis Ababa, the IGAD-Plus agreed on the urgent need to resolve the conflict, which has devastated South Sudan. The IGAD-Plus mediation has put it that the Compromise Agreement is signed by August 17 towards resolving the crisis in South Sudan. "The IGAD-Plus are united in their determination to see that the Compromise Agreement is signed by August 17, which will go a long way to ease the suffering of the people of South Sudan," according to a statement released earlier by the mediation.Speaking at the opening of this round of negotiation, Seyoum Mesfin, IGAD Chief Mediator, noted that the latest peace talks is a critical moment whereby the participants would make decision that might impact the destiny of the youngest nation and the people of the country.   ADDIS ABABA Ethiopia (Xinhua) -- Participants attend the mediation peace process of South Sudan peace negotiation in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. The East African bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been mediating the peace process of South Sudan towards ending the crisis erupted since mid-December in 2013 in the world’s youngest nation. XINHUA PHOTO - MICHAEL TEWELDE

. "We have now reached at critical juncture whereby participants of this phase will make decisions that may impact the destiny of the people of South Sudan and their youngest nation," said Seyoum.The IGAD-Plus include the IGAD member states, the five members of the African Union High-Level Ad Hoc Committee, the Troika, China, the African Union Commission, the European Union, the United Nations and the IGAD Partners Forum. . EARLIER REPORTS: Juba prevents opposition delegation from travelling to peace talks in Ethiopia KHARTOUM (Xinhua) -- A delegation of South Sudanese opposition parties has said the Juba government has prevented them from travelling to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to take part in the peace talks between the South Sudanese warring parties. "We have been doing our travel procedures when a police officer told us that there were directives from the Presidency to prevent the delegation from travelling," Lam Akol, head of the opposition delegation, told reporters at Juba airport Wednesday. "Such decisions do not serve the peace issue in any way," Akol said, describing the move as "a flagrant violation" of freedom of movement stipulated in the country’s constitution as well as international laws. He further reiterated that the delegation has received a formal invitation from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development in Africa (IGAD), which is mediating between the South Sudanese rivals who are to resume talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday. The South Sudanese opposition parties’ alliance brings together about 18 political parties that are not participating in the government. Earlier IGAD announced a reviewed proposed draft peace agreement to be considered by South Sudan’s warring parties, the government led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition, led by former vice president Riek Machar. The mediators availed the two sides until Aug. 17 to sign a peace deal to end the violent clash in the newly-born state. Despite many rounds of talks under IGAD’s patronage, the two South Sudanese rivals have failed to reach a peace deal. South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013 when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Machar. The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer ethnic group. The clashes have left thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee their homes. . Sudan oil minister denies war in South Sudan to harm oilfields KHARTOUM (Xinhua) -- Sudan’s oil minister Mohamed Zayed Awad has denied that the on-going civil war in South Sudan would disturb the country’s oilfields, affirming that petroleum is a source of wealth for the two neighbors. Awad arrived in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Friday, and met with President Salva Kiir Mayardit. "The two warring parties in South Sudan are aware that harming the oilfields would harm all sides," Awad told reporters at Juba airport. "We do not expect any harm to be inflicted on the oilfields", noted the Sudanese minister. He said the cooperation between Khartoum and Juba was continuing, pointing out that the oil deal was the "most distinctive" among the agreements signed by the two countries. The South Sudanese oil minister, Stephen Dhieu, meanwhile, said Juba welcomes bilateral cooperation in oil production sector and other domains. The South Sudanese rebels, led by former vice president, Riek Machar, said earlier they were seeking to control the oilfields to prevent President Kiir from using the oil to prolong the war. South Sudan’s oil production has dropped by nearly 30 percent since mid-December 2013, where the country’s daily oil production used to reach 245,000 barrels before the fighting broke out, but now that figure has been slashed to about 175,000 barrels. South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013, when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Machar. The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer ethnic group.The clashes have left thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee their homes.