South Sudan opposition rejects plans to extend Kiir's rule

South Sudan's opposition has described as illegal plans to extend the tenure of President Salva Kiir by three more years.

Opposition spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel called the proposal "definitely illegal" and "anti-peace" as the warring sides pursue a peace agreement.

Gabriel told journalists in the capital, Juba, on Tuesday that the plot to keep Kiir in office until 2021 undermines peace talks with opposition forces.

South Sudanese government on Tuesday started debating a bill extending the tenure of the interim government headed by President Kiir by three years.

It will now be examined by a legislative committee and then return to parliament for a second reading in 30 days.

South Sudan's conflict erupted in 2013, around two years after it won independence from Sudan when Kiir accused his then-deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup. It has been ruled by an interim government since.

Some interpreted this as a sign that Kiir and his government was not interested in making peace despite the signing of a "permanent" ceasefire in Khartoum which has already been breached.

A lawmaker told this reporter that the extension showed that the "government is not ready to sign a peace agreement".
James Okuk, a political science professor at the University of Juba, said it was a bid to pressure rebels.

"They are using this to send a signal to the opposition: 'if you don’t speed up the compromise for the peace agreement, we are going ahead'", he said.

The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced four million people and left the economy of the world's newest country in tatters.

The United Nations had given the two South Sudanese sides until the end of June to find a viable political agreement or face sanctions.