President Salva Kiir received and met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Demke Mekonnen and discussed issues of bilateral relations between South Sudan and Ethiopia as well as also the political and security situation of Ethiopia - Credit | Office of the President | December 16, 2021

President Salva Kiir has assured the Ethiopian government that South Sudan will not serve as a launching pad for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front or TPLF.

This came after the deputy Ethiopian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen held bilateral meetings with President Salva Kiir and senior government officials in Juba.

They discussed strengthening bilateral relations between Juba and Addis Ababa and the current conflict in Ethiopia.

Speaking during a press conference in Juba on Thursday, Dina Mufti, the spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said many leaders across the World have suggested mediation.

He said Ethiopia is capable of resolving its internal affairs.

“The President [Kiir] in his interaction with the Deputy Prime Minister, he said, he is confident of the capacity of the Ethiopian government to take care of its internal issue,” the spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“There are mechanisms which have been worked on by the government [Ethiopia] like inclusive dialogue and others which the parliament perhaps as of today or tomorrow will endorse.”

“We appreciate the concern of friendly governments like South Sudan but we believe the Ethiopian government is capable of handling its internal crisis by itself.”

Last week, the government spokesperson, Michael Makuei denied social media claims alleging that Juba is supplying arms to the TPLF.     

Ambassador Mufti says they have received an assurance from President Kiir over the matter.

“In two days of conversation between the two leaders, the President has confirmed in strong terms that South Sudan won’t be the source of an attack on Ethiopia,” Ambassador Mufti said.

“The President has reconfirmed the support of the government of South Sudan for territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ethiopia.”

During the meeting, President Kiir also told the visiting deputy Prime Minister that he believes the Ethiopian government is capable of resolving its internal crisis without intervention from foreign countries including South Sudan.

In September this year, President Salva Kiir offered to mediate the Ethiopian conflict after the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok requested Kiir to mediate between Addis Ababa and the regional government in Tigray.

Fighting broke out in November 2020 between Ethiopia’s federal troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the region of some six million people.

Thousands have died and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The war has dragged on for months, triggering a humanitarian crisis in Tigray – leaving 400,000 people food-insecure, according to the United Nations.