SSUF leader General Paul Malong (left) and NAS's General Thomas Cirillo. (Photo: Courtesy).

The Non-Signatory Opposition alliance have expressed reservations over the government’s call for the resumption the Rome peace negotiations.

On Saturday, Presidential Affairs Minister Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin declared the resumption of the political engagement with the opposition groups, as the country prepares to receive Pope Francis and other global church leaders.

Reacting to the lifting of the Talks’ suspension, the spokesperson of South Sudan United Front, welcomed the gesture saying the groups is ready for peace.

But Garang Malual Deng Yaak questions the timing of the call for the peace talks resumption.

“We have always been ready for the peace talks with the government. So if they talk today that they are coming back for negotiations, therefore we are ready for the talk, so we don’t have problem with that.”

“Our reservation always is that the government doesn’t hold on to what they have told the media or the people of South Sudan, they can say today that they going for negotiations with us but later on they might even change their mind.”

Mr. Malual believes that the reported resumption of the Rome negotiations is not genuine, but a move to portray good image ahead of the visit of Pope Francis.

“In fact what makes them say this that they going back for the negotiations it’s because the Pope coming to South Sudan, otherwise we don’t have trust on the statement of Dr Marial.”

The unity government had suspended its participation twice in the peace negotiations in the last two years.

Juba first halted the talks in 2021, accusing NAS of attacking and killing four people including two catholic nuns along Juba-Nimule Highway, which the armed opposition group denied.

The second boycott by the government delegation was in November last year. Presidential Affairs Minister Marial Benjamin alleged that the non-signatory South Sudan Opposition Group was buying time to prepare for war.

On his part, the spokesperson of the National Salvation Front Suba Samuel has called for round-table conference as a way forward to resolve the root causes of the conflict.

Samuel says the government should be genuine in the efforts to end the conflict.

“We as an opposition agenda the moment, we are busy trying to mobilize the stakeholders, other opposition groups, the civil society and religious leaders, such that we go for what we call roundtable conference,” he said.

It said the discussion should be conducted to “discuss among ourselves and agree about the best way out to bring peace to the South Sudan.”

The Rome peace initiative began with the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the government and opposition groups in January 2020, and subsequent negotiations on the root causes of political violence in the country.