The African Union Commission (AUC) is doubling down on efforts to avert a full-blown crisis in South Sudan, with Chairperson Mahmoud Youssouf Ali announcing the deployment of a high-level AU Panel of the Wise to Juba.
This comes days after Kenya’s special envoy, Raila Odinga, revealed he was barred from meeting South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar, who remains under house arrest amid escalating tensions.
Mahmoud, following “cordial, direct” talks with President Salva Kiir on Monday, stressed the urgent need for dialogue to uphold the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“The AU calls on all parties to ensure its full implementation,” he said, vowing to work with IGAD, the EAC, and the UN to steer South Sudan toward peace.
Raila, fresh from Juba, told reporters on Saturday that Kiir cited the killing of a general in Nassir, Upper Nile, as the reason for Machar’s detention.
“I requested to see Machar, but they refused, directing me to meet President Museveni instead,” Raila said. After briefing Museveni in Entebbe, Raila plans to return to Juba.
The AU’s move signals growing alarm over South Sudan’s fragile peace, with Machar’s arrest threatening to unravel the 2018 deal that ended a brutal civil war.
As regional and global players rally to prevent a relapse, all eyes are on Juba—will dialogue prevail, or will the world’s youngest nation slide back into chaos?
