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Ugandan military chief urges S. Sudan warring parties to resume talks

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Uganda's military chief Gen. Katumba Wamala on Monday said a military option can not guarantee peace in neighboring South Sudan.

Gen. Wamala told Xinhua in an interview in Entebbe, 40 km south of the capital Kampala that the warring parties have to return to the negotiation table in a bid to sign a final deal to end more than a year of civil war.

The peace talks collapsed on March 5 after President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, now opposition leader failed to reach a deal in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to end the conflict that has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands.

"I feel concerned and disappointed with the way, pace and directions the peace talks are taking. The parties will have to go back to the negotiating table for the conclusion of the talks and signing of the peace deal," said Wamala.

"Dialogue is the only solution to this conflict. If they could move faster, the people could see the beauty of solving the problem through dialogue," he said.

Wamala urged both parties to refrain from any attempt to escalate the conflict through military action.

"We shall not advise them to go for a military solution. It's a short term solution to the conflict. We need them to talk to each other," he said.

The March 6 adjournment was the latest impasse in negotiations over the world's youngest country after President Kiir and rebel leader, Machar missed a deadline to reach a peace agreement.

Wamala said Uganda will not withdraw its troops from South Sudan until a solution is reached to end the conflict.

"We are still in South Sudan. We shall not leave or withdraw our forces from there. The situation is not good for us to leave now," said Wamala.

Uganda deployed its troops in South Sudan in December 2013 after violence broke out in the capital Juba between the troops loyal to President Kiir and deputy Machar. Endi