South Sudan accuses Kenya of border encroachment

Nakodok, along the South Sudan-Kenya border. [VOA]

"Even if there were an agreement, it could not be given without the consent of the parliament that represents the people," Nhomngek said.

On Thursday, Kiir dispatched his special adviser to Nairobi, a move seen as an effort to ease the tension between the two countries. The mission came a day after Kenya sent Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria to Juba to deliver a message from President William Ruto.

South Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister Mayiik Ayii Deng said the government hopes to use diplomatic means to resolve the impasse.

Kiir is under immense pressure to reconvene the national assembly to discuss the matter. Bol Joseph Agau, a member of parliament and a member of the National Democratic Movement Party under the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), said, "We need the parliament to be recalled by the head of the state. His excellency, the President Salva Kiir, needs to see that we have a big need for the parliament to be reopened."

Some leaders said South Sudan would not cede even an inch of territory.

Dau Deng Dau, deputy minister for foreign affairs, said South Sudan "is called a country because of a defined territory and population, and we want to inform our youths to be calm, be patient, your country is addressing all these matters."

The deputy foreign affairs minister said South Sudan had several other areas that, in his words, had been entered by neighboring countries, specifically Kenya and Uganda. He said South Sudan's border commission was working with both countries to resolve the issues.