Ethiopia Admits Supporting South Sudan Rebel Leader Riek Machar

South Sudanese Rebel Leader Riek Machar shaking hands with unidentified Ethiopian Government official in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia Admits Supporting South Sudan Rebel Leader Riek Machar

Ethiopia has extended military support to South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar while simultaneously hosting the peace talks under the auspices of IGAD, an Eritrean Government official said yesterday.

Citing diplomatic sources, the official said the Ethiopian Government has acknowledged it is supporting Machar but attributed its support to "unruly acts of local commanders" within its military.

"Curiously, the news has not been picked up by the press as yet although it is now an open secret in the diplomatic grapevine." Said Yemane Ghebremeskel, the director of President Isaias Afwerki's office.

"Perhaps as a pre-emptory ploy, Ethiopia had earlier alluded to "circumstantial evidences" to falsely accuse Eritrea of supporting the group." Yemane added.

South Sudan has been shaken by violence since last December, when President Salva Kiir accused his sacked vice-president, Riek Machar, of attempting to overthrow his regime.

The conflict has already claimed more than 10,000 lives, with the U.N. estimating that some 3.7 million people in South Sudan are now “severely food insecure” while around one million have been displaced by the violence.

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