South Sudan’s Kiir vows to crush rebels

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has vowed to crush the rebels fighting to dislodge him from power.

President Kiir told a military parade at the army headquarters in Juba on Tuesday that many people were lured into rebellion by the prospects of higher ranks in the military or the government.

He said such intentions posed a major threat to the nation's peace and stability.

A selfish war

President Kiir said the war waged against his leadership had no national agenda but was the work of individuals keen to get higher positions.

“The war being fought is a war without a clear national direction and political goals. It is a selfish war to gain ranks and positions in the government without effort,” President Kiir noted.

His sentiments seemed to touch on a power-sharing formula proposed recently by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad), which prefers four deputy presidents for South Sudan.

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“There are many people (rebels) who want to become generals in the army….some coming from cattle camps.

"This is unacceptable this time,” he said.

President Kiir said rewarding rebels with higher positions was encouraging instability in the young nation and sabotaging development and the co-existence among the South Sudan communities.

“It is only in South Sudan where rebels are rewarded with ranks and positions. In other countries, rebels are rewarded with death,'' said the president.

Peace talks

He directed the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA) in Juba to double their efforts and get rid of proxies across the country.

“So, I want you the national army to continue defeating these rogues,” he said.

The government and the rebels factions were preparing to attend the last round of peace talks next month facilitated by Igad.