South Sudan President Pardons Renegades

South Sudan President Pardons Renegades

South Sudan's President has offered pardons to four men accused of launching attacks as his party strives to heal political divisions in the build-up to an independence referendum.

The Deputy Secretary General in President Salva Kiir's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Anne Itto, said the pardons to people, who have been fighting either the government or the people, were given on condition that they stop what they are doing against the state.

A copy of the presidential order made available to newsmen, says the pardons were offered to a former southern army officer George Athor, who said he was cheated out of the governorship of Jonglei state in April elections and a former warlord now serving in the northern army, Gabriel Tang.

The two other men offered pardons were Galwak Gai, who rebelled in Unity State after the elections and Robert Gwang, accused of launching a mutiny in the Shilluk tribal areas, which mostly lie in Upper Nile state.

The pardons, which also covered the men's followers, offered them free movement in the south and pledged to return former southern army officers to their positions in the force.

The announcement came as envoys from the UN Security Council toured the south at the start of a trip aimed at pressing Sudanese authorities to hold the referendum on time and avoid another civil war.

The people of the oil-producing south are about three months away from a referendum on whether they should form Africa's newest country or stay united with the north.

REUTERS/Williams/Yinka