Raila Odinga went to Juba Friday but only talked with President Salva Kiir. He skipped meeting the house-arrested First Vice President Riek Machar, who leads the armed opposition group. Odinga said he had a good talk with Kiir about the bad political situation that happened after Machar was put under guard at home. He called Kiir "my brother" and said they had deep talks.
Odinga never heard anything directly from Machar, yet said peace might happen soon anyway. He plans to tell other area leaders and President William Ruto what he learned and create a map toward lasting peace. The Kiir government claims Machar tried to start a rebel fight against them. Information Minister Michael Makuei said Friday that spy reports show Machar told his SPLA-IO forces to make trouble.
The SPLA-IO announced Thursday that when soldiers arrested Machar, the peace deal from 2018 fell apart completely. Many world groups want Machar to be free right away. UN boss António Guterres asked Kiir Friday to free Machar and bring back the unity government from the 2018 deal. The African Union will send a wise person team led by retired Judge Effie Owuor from Kenya.
The US, UK, France, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, and the European Union all want Kiir to free Machar quickly. IGAD warned Thursday that keeping Machar locked up hurts the already weak peace deal signed back in 2018. The safety problems made Germany and Norway shut down their embassies in Juba. The US and UK kept some workers but sent others home as things became more dangerous each day.
Odinga never heard anything directly from Machar, yet said peace might happen soon anyway. He plans to tell other area leaders and President William Ruto what he learned and create a map toward lasting peace. The Kiir government claims Machar tried to start a rebel fight against them. Information Minister Michael Makuei said Friday that spy reports show Machar told his SPLA-IO forces to make trouble.
The SPLA-IO announced Thursday that when soldiers arrested Machar, the peace deal from 2018 fell apart completely. Many world groups want Machar to be free right away. UN boss António Guterres asked Kiir Friday to free Machar and bring back the unity government from the 2018 deal. The African Union will send a wise person team led by retired Judge Effie Owuor from Kenya.
The US, UK, France, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, and the European Union all want Kiir to free Machar quickly. IGAD warned Thursday that keeping Machar locked up hurts the already weak peace deal signed back in 2018. The safety problems made Germany and Norway shut down their embassies in Juba. The US and UK kept some workers but sent others home as things became more dangerous each day.
