Hopes of a mediated settlement to the South Sudan crisis dimmed last week as the regional body reconciling the warring factions warned of fatigue in the face of scarce resources and other threats to security in the region.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development said its priorities would be reviewed to also address emerging challenges like the killing of Ethiopians in Libya, the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, the uncontrolled refugee flow from Yemen to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea, Al Shabaab attacks in Kenya, election-related tensions in Burundi and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.

“We cannot afford to focus only on South Sudan while the region is overwhelmed by other crises. The warring parties must realise that Igad has limited resources and cannot continue sponsoring the talks for over 15 months without tangible results,” an Igad source told The EastAfrican from Addis Ababa.

Igad convened a two-day meeting in Addis Ababa last week to review its priorities on the continent. The meeting involved Igad Secretariat executive secretary Mahboub Maalim; representatives from the African Union Peace and Security Council and from the Troika of the UK, US and Norway, who finance the talks.

Ethiopia, being the chair of the South Sudan peace talks, is now preoccupied with the high number of its citizens risking their lives in search of a new beginning in Europe.

The EastAfrican established that a planned visit by foreign ministers from the region to Addis Ababa to review the Igad peace process on South Sudan was called off early last week following the killings in Libya. Ethiopia observed three days of national mourning over the killings.

The ministers’ visit was among the agreements reached during Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s visit to President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi last week. South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar held brief consultations on Monday last week but further engagements were postponed indefinitely because of the conference that was going on in Pagak, Ethiopia.

Christopher Mononye, a South Sudanese who works with Unicef in Abuja, Nigeria, said the politicians would be the key losers should a solution be found despite their intransigence.

“People of South Sudan had much hope of a final settlement when Igad gave the March 5 deadline. Still, the two parties will ultimately sign a deal but it will not be to their expectations because both sides are trying hard not to be seen as the stumbling block. Whoever refuses the deal will be isolated just like former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo,” said Rev Mononye.

The Troika is understood to be getting weary of the drawn-out talks and is ready to impose an agreement without further negotiations. Juba strongly believes that the Troika is determined to sideline both President Kiir and Dr Machar from the proposed interim government.

READ: Sanctions loom for Juba if deal is not signed

The challenge for Igad has been how to select countries from the five regions of the continent who have no direct interests in South Sudan for the proposed Igad-Plus process. The other challenge is the pressure on Igad to release the report of the Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan, which may help the continent understand the root cause of the conflict.

South Sudan ambassador to Kenya Mariano Deng said that the two parties have been waiting to be furnished with the new peace proposal but nothing has happened so far.

“Igad has to encourage a sense of belonging and ownership among the South Sudanese people otherwise the cohesion the region has been trying to bring about may collapse. South Sudan is a young nation that must be encouraged to walk the path of democracy and any change of leadership must be through the democratic process,” said the ambassador.

“Our commitment has always been the same. We will not sign a peace deal without addressing the root cause of the crisis. That doesn’t provide any justice for more than 20,000 civilians killed. Killing with impunity will never be allowed in South Sudan. Victims need answers,” said Dr Machar from Pagak. 

The government and rebel sides have continued to violate the January 2014 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement with their intermittent confrontations in Unity, Jonglei and Upper Nile states.