By Press TV,
The executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Mahboub Maalim is quoted to have said,
“Delegates for Kiir and Machar have been meeting in luxurious hotels in the Ethiopian capital since January with both sides bickering over the agenda and even the venue of discussion. Both Kiir and Machar were “stupid” if they thought they could win on the battle field … I think sometimes they thought they could win on the ground militarily , something which is very stupid.”
The government of South Sudan is now threatening to leave peace talks brokered by the IGAD claiming that the statement is demeaning to president Salva kiir and rebel leader Riek machar.
Juba has written to the chairperson of the IGAD who is also the prime minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, demanding that action be taken against executive secretary of IGAD.
Until now there has been no response from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development office in Addis Ababa.
The mediation team comprised of three chief mediators has also refused to be linked with the remarks of the IGAD executive secretary.
The team says that the remarks of Mahboub Maalim, do not represent the opinion of the mediation team.
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