South Sudan rivals, President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar on Tuesday 17th December 2019 agreed to form a unity government by February 2020 deadline. Both leaders face international censure over faltering peace talks.
The rivals signed a truce in September 2018 but have failed to honour that agreement that they form a power-sharing government.
Two deadlines have passed without Kiir and Machar, his former deputy turned enemy, agreeing to join forces. Differences linger over territorial boundaries and a commitment to unifying their factions.
On November 12 they were given another 100 days to honor the peace deal. Following talks in Juba, Kiir that they had agreed to meet the 100-day deadline.
South Sudan plunged into war in 2013, just two years after it achieved independence from Sudan to the north, after a falling-out between Kiir and Machar, who now lives in exile.
Successive peace deals and mediation bids have failed to achieve a lasting peace for the world’s youngest country.
