Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny has said that he is against forceful disarmament in the country which he said would spark violence between armed youth and the government.
This is after the growing calls for the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to carry out disarmament against civilians who are killing each other on communal and tribal lines in several parts of the country.
Speaking during the launch Leadership Retreat for the State Ministers of Peace Building and state chairpersons of peace commissions in Juba on Tuesday, Machar expressed fears that any attempt to disarmament civilians by force will lead the country to another crisis.
“If you do it [disarmament] by force, you will create more violence; it needs persuasion. “Our first challenge is, how do we persuade our population to give up ownership of arms in the state?” Machar said, as quoted by Eye Radio.
President Salva Kiir had stated in July that the solution will be to buy arms from civilians saying: “The only way to get them out is buying off from them – that is to tell a person that ‘If you give us your guns, you will be given this.”
