South Sudan government in peace deal with opposition

After weeks of rising conflict between the sides, South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his vice president, Riek Machar, have decided to resume negotiations about combining their rival forces under a unified command.

In 2018, Kiir and Machar’s armies reached a peace accord, ending a five-year civil conflict. However, implementation has been delayed, and the opposing parties have repeatedly battled over power-sharing disagreements.

In recent weeks, there has been an uptick in fighting. On March 23, Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) withdrew from the peace deal’s inspection mechanisms, claiming government forces as a reason.

Kiir and Machar re-committed to the peace pact during a signing ceremony on Sunday evening attended by a representative from neighboring Sudan’s government, vowing to abide by a previous truce and speed up the integration of their forces.

In the coming week, opposition generals will be assigned to an united command structure. Following that, the sides will work to incorporate SPLM/A-IO fighters into the army by graduating them from training centers.

“What we say must be put into action.” After the signing, Martin Gama Abucha, an SPLM/A-IO delegate, remarked, “The people of South Sudan want that from us.”

Tut Gatluak Manime, a representative of Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), expressed gratitude to Sudan for “standing with us to prevent another escalation into conflict and supporting the implementation of the peace pact.”

The precise ratio of pro-Kiir to pro-Machar personnel in the combined army is still being worked out. According to a spokeswoman for the SPLM/A-IO, the ratio would be between 55:45 and 60:40.

From 2013 to 2018, South Sudan’s civil conflict, which was often fought along ethnic lines, cost an estimated 400,000 lives, triggered a famine, and resulted in Africa’s largest refugee crisis since Rwanda’s genocide in 1994.