Ambassador Ismail Wais, IGAD special envoy for South Sudan, has refuted allegations that IGAD and Troika are responsible for violations of cessation of hostilities in Jonglei region.
He said the claims by SPLM-IO deputy military spokesperson Lam Paul Gabriel are misleading and irresponsible.
In a statement to the media, Wais asked Gabriel to withdraw the statement issued on Monday because it is "unfounded and diverts the attention of the public from the core issues of attainment of peace and security in South Sudan".
The armed opposition forces allied to former first Vice President Riek Machar had accused the regional peace mediators and international guarantors of indirectly backing attacks and truce breaches on their areas in Jonglei region.
"Vice President Taban Deng is touring, with the knowledge of the Igad and Troika countries, the greater Jonglei, causing more destruction and displacement to the civilians in areas under the control of the SPLA-IO," Gabriel said.
The IGAD special envoy held a meeting on Wednesday in Juba with the chairperson of the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism, Major General Ibrahim AbdulJelill.
After this meeting, Wais recalled the statements issued by the chairperson of the Igad Council Minister, the Troika and jointly by the AU and UN, all of which pointed to the callous violations of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access
signed in Addis Ababa on December 21, last year, at the High-level Revitalisation Forum.
Wais said in all of these statements, the signatories have been called upon to desist from actions that contravene the agreement.
Ambassador Wais said CTSAMM has been closely monitoring the developments on the ground since the coming into effect of the CoHA, and doing its assessment and verification tasks with a view to ascertain and identify those armed groups and military commanders responsible for the violations.
"Violators shall be identified, held accountable and will face all consequences thereof," he
said.