JUBA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's transitional unity government on Wednesday condemned a failed coup attempt on Tuesday in its northern neighbor Sudan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it considers the coup attempt to oust the transitional government in Sudan as a blatant attack on the process of consolidating peace in Sudan.
"The government and the people of the Republic of South Sudan strongly condemn this failed coup attempt and urge the Sudanese government to hold accountable all those involved. The government of South Sudan also condemns any external interference intended to derail the peaceful transition that is currently underway in Sudan," the ministry said in a statement issued in Juba.
It disclosed that it rejects the use of military means to undermine the power of the people and the leadership of the transitional government.
President Salva Kiir had phone conversations with the Chairman of the Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Tuesday morning after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) successfully thwarted the attempted coup allegedly by supporters of former President Omar Al-Bashir.
"Such unconstitutional shortcuts aimed at blocking the democratic political transition in Sudan should not be allowed to derail the efforts of the Sudanese people," the statement said.
It also called on all the parties and stakeholders in Sudan to embrace peaceful dialogue and protect the transitional government in order to safeguard the democratic gains made during this transitional period.
President Kiir in October last year mediated and oversaw the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement between the Sudan transitional government and various armed rebels from the regions of Darfur, Nuba Mountains and South Kordofan.
These former rebel fighters have been integrated into the Sudan transitional government, ending decades-long conflicts with the Sudanese government.
"We once again reaffirm our support to full implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement in Sudan, and urge the parties to recommit to it as the best path forward to achieve the legitimate goals of the Sudanese revolution," it added.
South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of conflict between the then rebel army Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and successive regimes in Khartoum.
The two share a long common border that has not been demarcated, and they had recently agreed to open by Oct. 1 four border crossing points at Jebeleen area to encourage trade and movement of people across their common border that was shut in 2011. Enditem
