SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
S.Sudan rivals agree key military provision of peace pact
Juba, April 3 (AFP) Apr 03, 2022
In a major breakthrough, South Sudan's rival leaders sealed an agreement Sunday on a key military provision of their faltering peace deal following mediation by neighbouring Sudan.

President Salva Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, agreed on the creation of a unified armed forces command, one of several crucial unresolved issues holding up implementation of the 2018 deal to end the country's bloody five-year civil war.

"Peace is about security and today we have (achieved) a milestone," said Martin Abucha, who signed the agreement on behalf of Machar's opposition party the SPLM/A-IO.

"This to inform everyone that we are for peace and let all of us work for peace," added Kiir's security adviser Tut Gatluak.

Tensions between forces loyal to Kiir and former rebel leader Machar have spiralled recently, triggering fears in the international community of a return to full-blown conflict in the world's youngest nation.

Both men were present at the ceremony in the capital Juba for the signing of the accord, which stipulates a 60-40 distribution of key leadership posts in the army, police and national security forces.

Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, currently the number two in Sudan's post-coup ruling council, had arrived in Juba on Friday on a bid to break the deadlock over the security arrangements.

Sudan drew up the proposal after Kiir on March 25 issued a presidential decree on the formation of the command structure, a move that had been swiftly rejected by Machar as a "unilateral" action.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Bearings Used in Space Technologies: Engineering for the Final Frontier
China prepares for Mars sample return with HKU astrobiologist on mission team
Robots could one day crawl across the moon

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Ultrasound triggers nuclear decay anomaly hinting at flexible space-time
AI system accelerates aircraft concept design using language models
Autonomous sub explores unexplored trench depths to reveal critical mineral clues

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
PLD Space selected as leading contender for ESA sovereign launch initiative
UK opens competitive bid for GBP 75 million orbital cleanup mission
Boeing wins major contract to deliver new generation strategic comms satellites

24/7 News Coverage
Glacier retreat could drive a surge in volcanic eruptions worldwide
UK thermal satellite firm wins ESA contract to deliver real time climate and security insights
Beyond male dominance in primates new study redefines gender power roles



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.