Over 500 delegates; politicians, military officers, and other representatives gathered in Juba for a 5-day SPLM/A-IO National Conference.

The leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition, Dr. Riek Machar, says his group is committed to working towards building sustainable peace in the country.

On Tuesday, over 500 delegates comprising of politicians, military officers, and other representatives gathered in Juba for a five-day national conference of the SPLM-IO to deliberate on ways to “build and sustain peace through the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement”.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Machar, who is also the first vice president, stated the main opposition party is committed to silencing the guns.

“The parties to the agreement are currently engaged in the process of implementation of R-ARCSS with the overarching objectives of achieving sustainable peace, security and transition democracy,” he told the conference.

Machar was speaking this morning during the opening of the 6th SPLM/SPLA- IO National conference in Juba.

The conference, being held for the first time in Juba runs under the theme, “building and sustaining peace through implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

The SPLM-IO was formed in April 2014 after a disagreement among members of the ruling SPLM party led to the 2013 civil war.