JUBA: South Sudanese President Salva Kiir is ready to sign a peace deal with the main rebel leader, the United Nations deputy secretary-general said, a further sign the rivals may form a transitional government to end the more than four-year civil war.
Kiir “believes strongly in the peace process and the accord will be signed” with insurgent leader Riek Machar, the UN’s Amina Mohammed said Wednesday in the capital, Juba, after meeting the president.
The conflict that began in the East African nation in December 2013 has left tens of thousands of people dead and driven 4 million others from their homes, with both sides accused of atrocities. Kiir and Machar signed a cease-fire in Sudan last week and signalled they’re working on the details to unite in a 36-month transitional government.
The two leaders signed a power-sharing deal in 2015 that fell apart weeks into its enactment the following year and was followed by a new wave of violence.