South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (R) meets with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, June 20, 2018. Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar were due on Wednesday to discuss issues on governance and security which remain sticky issues among the warring parties when the leaders would meet in the Ethiopian capital, a senior official revealed. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
JUBA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar were due on Wednesday to discuss issues on governance and security which remain sticky issues among the warring parties when the leaders would meet in the Ethiopian capital, a senior official revealed.
Awut Deng Acuil, South Sudan's minister of Gender and Child Affairs, told journalists Wednesday in Juba that Kiir would discuss the outstanding issues on governance and security with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-in opposition (SPLM/A-IO) leader Machar at the face-to-face talks in Addis Ababa.
"I think more will be on governance and security issues because when we were discussing governance and security issues we had differences in the timeframe, the opposition are talking about 12 to 18 months and the government is talking about 120 days for integration of the forces," Awut said in Juba as President Kiir left for the Addis Ababa talks.
The government has rejected the opposition demand on dissolving the transitional parliament and formation of two armies which in the past resulted in clashes on July 8, 2016 as Machar returned to take up his position of First Vice President under the 2015 peace agreement.
The minister said the government side was opposed to the idea of two armies as being proposed by the opposition in the capital.
"If we take the position suggested by the opposition it is just the same as like what happened last time (two armies) and we cannot afford to have two armies anymore that is why the time has to be shortened so that we start with the transitional period with one national army," Awut disclosed.
She revealed that talks between the two leaders who are invited by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will take place as scheduled on Wednesday prior to the Thursday summit of the Heads of States from the East African regional bloc IGAD.
South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013, and the conflict has created one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.
A 2015 peace agreement was shattered when the warring parties renewed fighting in July 2016 in the capital forcing rebel leader Machar to flee into exile.
The UN estimates that about 4 million South Sudanese have been displaced internally and externally.