JUBA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's main opposition party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) led by First Vice President Riek Machar, on Wednesday urged the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, to intervene and help secure the release of several detained opposition officials.

Pal Mai Deng, minister of water resources and irrigation and spokesperson for SPLM/A-IO, said IGAD member states have an obligation to engage in and facilitate a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis.

"We also call upon IGAD member states to intervene to help secure the release of political and military leaders of the SPLM/A-IO," Deng said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Tensions between the transitional government and the opposition were sparked by fighting on March 3 between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the White Army, which is linked to SPLM/A-IO, in Nasir, Upper Nile State.

Last week, more than two dozen members of the South Sudanese military, including a general, were killed when the UN mission helicopter came under fire in Nasir.

Amid the escalating tensions, senior military officers and ministers loyal to SPLM/A-IO were arrested by the government.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and SPLM/A-IO signed the 2018 revitalized peace agreement to end years of conflict that broke out in December 2013.

Experts have warned that the current tensions threaten to derail the implementation of the peace deal if urgent de-escalation measures are not undertaken. Enditem

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