Ethiopian PM says will not support any armed group inside his territory

JUBA (28 Oct.)

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Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Friday told South Sudanese members of parliament that he stands with the people of South Sudan and the government and therefore his government rejects the path of war and armed resistance against the South Sudanese government.

Speaking at the National Parliament premise during one-day visit, Desalengn said that he’s ready to cooperate in strong army-to-army cooperation between the two countries. He said that armed struggle cannot bring any peace and therefore his country wants to see peace.

“Ethiopia has committed itself as it has done early in 1972 during the interim period, and again in 2005 agreement for the CPA and the recent Addis Ababa Agreement in 2015. All these agreements were meant to bring about peace and stability in South Sudan,” he said.

"Today, we still continue to stand with people of South Sudan as they move forward towards the implementation of the peace agreement and consolidation stability in their own country,” he said.

He said, "Ethiopia rejects the path of war and armed resistance in any forms and stands with those who have chosen peaceful engagement.”

Hailemariam also called for the deployment of reinforcements for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). "I strongly believed that the deployment of the regional protection force mandated by the United Nations will help to further boost security and will argument the implementation of peace process in its entirety."

“We will not support an armed struggling group or anyone who opts for path of war and therefore we will not allow any armed movement which is detracting from peace in our region both in Ethiopia and South Sudan and will cooperate in a strong army-to-army cooperation where the president has agreed to send his chief of staff quickly to Addis Ababa and they will agree on the common cooperation of making our borders and also inland secure.” Read more here