South Sudan Council of Churches issue a joint statement on the conflict in Sudan and the situation in South Sudan. | Photo: Charles Wote/Eye Radio

The South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) has written to president Kiir to urgently address mounting hostilities across the country and ensure political detainees arrested are released for the sake of peace.

In a joint press statement, the religious body expressed concern over the current unrest along the Sobat River’s counties of Nasir and Ulang in Upper Nile State.

The church leaders call for smooth implementation of the peace agreement by deescalating uprising unrest.

They encourage the president to ensure leaders observe principles of peace implementation and prioritize citizen’s wellbeing to political interest.

“We stand at a critical juncture where this precious agreement is being shaken by the current wave of hostilities and limited political will among the Parties,” the statement said.

“We are deeply troubled by the recent violence in Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, Western Bahr El Ghazal, and Southern Warrap. These conflicts have stolen innocent lives, torn families apart, and force thousands to flee their homes.”

The religious body has reaffirmed their commitment toward fostering peace by encouraging South Sudanese leaders toward forgiveness and reconciliation to enable peace prevail.

The call comes as the conflict in Nasir between the army and alleged armed youths threatens to derail gains made in the 2018 peace agreement which ended five years of devastating civil war.

Violent clashes erupted on February 4 barely hours after a high-level Presidency meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir and attended by First Vice President Riek Machar and other vice presidents, resolved to ease tension in the region.

Some senior SPLM-IO officials and officers including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang and Deputy Chief of Defense Force Duop Lam for allegedly being in conflict with the law.