The top monitors of South Sudan’s peace deal have returned to the country after weeks of temporarily operating in Ethiopia.
After fighting between government and rebel forces in July, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission secretariat left the country for safety reasons. The JMEC chairman has since gone to South Sudan on visits, but the secretariat remained outside.
JMEC was earlier warned by Minister of Information Michael Makuei that if they did not return to the country soon, they would not be allowed back.
JMEC chairman Festus Mogae recently met with President Salva Kiir and the United Nations Security Council when it visited the country to discuss the implimentation of the peace deal. Recently, Mogae has criticized both the government and the opposition for not following the peace deal “from day one.”