SOUTH SUDAN-UNREST S. Sudan rebel leader warns president of more fighting if he stays on

Record ID: 148006

  • Title: SOUTH SUDAN-UNREST S. Sudan rebel leader warns president of more fighting if he stays on
  • Date: 8th July 2015
  • Summary: SHOWS: NAIROBI, KENYA (JULY 8, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH SUDAN REBEL LEADER, RIEK MACHAR, SAYING: "We want peace, Salva Kiir is weak and the people of South Sudan are stronger than Salva Kiir. They will very soon uprise against him, we do not like despots in our own country. We are people who resist despots."
  • Embargoed: 23rd July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Sudan
  • Country: South Sudan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4IAN58UW6OTWNSFG27DMEBNIB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL
    South Sudan's rebel leader warned on Wednesday (July 8) of renewed fighting, saying President Salva Kiir's new three-year mandate was illegal and the people had the right to "rise up and overthrow his regime" if he stayed on.
    Riek Machar was talking to journalists in Kenya's capital Nairobi as South Sudan's parliament speaker formally extended Kiir's term for three more years, as approved by lawmakers in a March vote.
    "We will propagate against him and his regime, we will create awareness among our people. This is an illegitimate regime, it is equated to a coup d'etat, we will also propagate in the region and also in the international community so that whenever they deal with him they know that this is not an elected president," said Machar.
    Rebels say parliament did not have the right to take such action, in a nation that has been mired in conflict since December 2013.
    "We want peace, Salva Kiir is weak and the people of South Sudan are stronger than Salva Kiir. They will very soon uprise against him, we do not like despots in our ow country. We are people who resist despots," added Machar.
    He said Kiir's term ended from midnight on July 8.
    Conflict in the world's newest nation, which marks four years of independence on Thursday (July 9), flared after a long-running power struggle that led to Kiir sacking Machar as his deputy in mid-2013.
    More than a year and a half of on-off talks in Ethiopia has failed to end the fighting.
    The conflict has killed thousands of people and driven more than 2.2 million from their homes, many of them fleeing to neighbouring states, including Kenya.
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