ADDIS ABABA: South Sudan’s warring leaders signed a fresh ceasefire deal yesterday vowing to end more than eight months of conflict, according to mediators who threatened sanctions should the agreement fail once again.
East Africa’s regional IGAD bloc, which mediated the talks between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar, called on the leaders to forge a unity government within 45 days.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.8 million have fled civil war sparked by a power struggle between Kiir and Machar, who met Monday for the first time in more than two months.
An IGAD communique welcomed the “signature by the warring parties” to the deal, “which obliges the parties to bring the conflict to an end”. Three previous ceasefire commitments have been broken within hours.
AFP
