Former Vice President Riak Machar says he will not sign a ceasefire agreement until all Ugandan Forces are withdrawn from South Sudan.
The new demand follows a visit to South Sudan by mediators and the U.S Special Envoy Donald Booth to try and convince Machar to end hostilities between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir.
"(We) will not sign a ceasefire with the government unless foreign troops of the Uganda People’s Defence Force, now taking part in the fighting for president Salva Kiir, are withdrawn from South Sudan and the political detainees are released," said Machar.
"If such demands are met, only then can the two sides further discuss the root causes of the political misunderstandings which internally originated from the ruling party of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement," said Machar.
Uganda has publicly denied that its forces are engaged in active combat operations; however countless eyewitness accounts attest otherwise.
In a related development, on Tuesday, Uganda’s parliament began debating President Yoweri Museveni’s request for approval to deploy more troops in South Sudan.
Muwanga Kivumbi Muhammed, a leading member of the parliamentary committee on Defense and Internal Affairs, says lawmakers will demand answers from the government on how long UPDF troops will stay in South Sudan, as well as their exact role in the ongoing conflict.
Some parliamentarians accused President Yoweri Museveni of contravening the constitution by failing to seek parliamentary approval before deploying troops to South Sudan. Muhammed says the government has refused to provide legislators with the exact number of UPDF troops so far deployed, citing security concerns. Muhammed also says the administration appears not to have an official request from South Sudan.
The Ugandan government has consistently stuck to the position that its troops are only in South Sudan to evacuate and protect its citizens, a claim that is widely disputed.