File photo: Rebecca Joshua Okwaci, former SPLM Chief Whip in Transitional Legislative Assembly and lawmaker. (Courtesy of the Office of the President)

JUBA, South Sudan (Eye Radio) – Military threats from the United People’s Alliance are one of the main challenges facing the resumption of the Tumaini Initiative talks, a government negotiator has told lawmakers.

Hon. Rebecca Joshua Okwaci, who is also a Member of the National Parliament, told lawmakers on Tuesday, September 9, that during the Nairobi peace talks, the opposition group introduced a new military structure aimed at intensifying the armed struggle.

“What I want to say is that the holdout group came out with a new structure during the negotiations, and that new structure was military in nature,” Okwaci stated.

“They call themselves the United People’s Alliance. The statement they gave was that they were going to intensify the struggle while we were negotiating peace.”

She added that this action created a major challenge that affected the Tumaini Initiative, leading to the indefinite suspension of the talks.

Okwaci made the remarks while parliament was deliberating on the quarterly report of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.

Her statement contrasts with remarks made last month by the Deputy Chief Mediator of the Tumaini Initiative, Dr. Mohammed Ali Guyo, who insisted the process remains alive despite earlier claims by government officials that it had collapsed.

The Nairobi-led peace initiative, which seeks to bring on board opposition factions excluded from the 2018 peace agreement, has been on hold since February 7th, marking the third adjournment.