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South Sudan rebel leader asks president to resign

Xinhua, July 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar on Wednesday asked President Salva Kiir to resign within 12 hours or he will mobilize South Sudanese to overthrow him.

Machar, chairman of Sudan's People Liberation Movement, told reporters in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that Kiir should step down to pave way for "a new crop of leaders" in line with the country's transitional constitution.

"As from midnight of July 8, the term of office of president Salva Kiir and that of the national legislature shall have expired according to the provisions of the 2011 transitional constitution, " he said.

The former first vice president accused Kiir of trying to illegally amend the constitution to extend his term, and warned that South Sudanese will overthrow him if he fails to leave office.

But meanwhile, he said the opposition will ask the international community to help push for a peaceful political transition in the world's youngest nation.

"We appeal to President Salva Kiir to resign from office and dissolve his entire government. The opposition will continue to advocate for a peaceful transfer of power," he said.

The statement is issued one day before the country marks four years of independence from Sudan.

South Sudan has seen conflicts between government forces and Machar-led rebels since December 2013.

Peace talks between Kiir and Machar stalled after they met in Nairobi last month. Previous truce agreements have since collapsed.

In an interview with Xinhua, Machar said he is "committed to a durable solution to the conflict in the country".

He said he supports a new mechanism from the African regional bloc -- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) -- to "re-energize conflict resolution".

"We support IGAD's new mechanism to kick start the peace process and are ready for talks with the government in Juba to end the ongoing conflict. A peaceful South Sudan benefits everyone," Machar said.

He also denied that the rebels were involved in gross human rights violations during clashes with government troops. Endi