Cord leader Raila Odinga met with a section of opposition MPs from South Sudan on Wednesday for a discussion on the ongoing bloody conflict in the country.
During the meeting in Naiorbi, Mr Odinga likened the row between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar to the ideological differences soon after Kenya's independence when Jomo Kenyatta and his deputy Jaramogi Oginga Odinga parted ways.
Mr Odinga appealed to the international community to do more to end the violence in the youngest African nation and initiate a process of national dialogue about a transition government that can bring peace to the country.
Developments in South Sudan ...if not dealt with firmly and urgently now, I fear they could launch the new country into a prolonged era of suspicion and mistrust that will haunt it for a very long time,” Mr Odinga said.
He said he will “remain engaged on the issue of South Sudan.”
The South Sudan leaders lamented that a “tragic calamity” continues to unfold in their country.
“In Juba, no one ever thought he would take arms to fight the Government. The war came as a surprise and it spared no one. It has killed even religious leaders,” head of the delegation Mr John Jok Chol said.
He said there is indiscriminate killing of children and women, describing the killings as “ethnic and deliberate.”
“We are coming here to tell you that we have a problem. We are yearning for peace in South Sudan. We cannot bring back to life those who have already been killed. But we are asking that those who have not been killed be saved from death."
Mr Odinga appealed to the leadership of South Sudan to take steps to end the violence and implement the cessation of hostilities agreement.
The CORD leader also appealed to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar to open the doors to dialogue on how to meet the needs of the people of South Sudan.
The South Sudan leaders included Members of the South Sudan National Assembly John Jock Chol and Michael Mot Diew and former ministers in Upper Nile State Daniel Wuor Joak and Sarah Nyanath Yoang before the war broke out last December.
Mr Joak is currently SPLM’s representative in Norway and the Scandinavian countries.
Mr Odinga pledged to lobby the international community to take renewed interest in South Sudan.
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