Mediator: Deal Reached in S. Sudan Conflict

[sudan]

Mediators say they have made a potential breakthrough in peace negotiations to end South Sudan's civil war. President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar will have 15 days to reach a power sharing agreement.
Members of South Sudan's warring parties have reportedly reached an agreement to cease fighting and end the nearly year-long conflict in the country, mediator Seyoum Mesfin of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced Saturday.
"The parties commit to an unconditional, complete and immediate end to all hostilities, and to bring the war to an end," Seyoum said.
Fighting broke out last December in South Sudan, beginning as a political struggle between President Salva Kiir and his former Deputy President Riek Machar, and then devolving into an ethnic conflict between the Dinka and Nuer peoples.
An initial ceasefire, negotiated in January and reaffirmed in May, has been repeatedly violated.
Seyoum told reporters that IGAD - the East African regional bloc that has been mediating the peace talks - would freeze assets, impose travel bans and take other measures against parties that violated the new agreement. The bloc will also stop the supply of weapons and ammunition to any side that continues fighting.
"The IGAD region shall without further reference to the warring parties take the necessary measures to directly intervene in South Sudan to protect life and restore peace and stability," Seyoum said.
Civil war has raged in South Sudan for nearly a year, killing more than 10,000 and displacing nearly 2 million
The peace talks have been carrying on for the past two days in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, and the two sides have 15 days to conduct consultations and come to a power sharing agreement, according to Seyoum.
News of the ceasefire comes amid an upsurge in fighting in the country, coinciding with the end of the rainy season.
Machar reportedly welcomed news of the agreement. "We do not want any soldier or any civilian to die again after this progress in Addis Ababa," he said.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also lauded the apparent progress.
"The Secretary-General is encouraged by the parties' intent to cease hostilities immediately and reach agreement on an inclusive power sharing agreement within 15 days," a UN statement read.
"[He] hopes that the parties will live up to their stated commitment to peace and meaningfully engage in dialogue in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement that addresses the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan."
South Sudan, Africa's newest nation, declared independence from Sudan in 2011. More than 10,000 people have been killed and an estimated 1.8 million have been driven from their homes since the civil war began in late 2013.

 

[waltky]

Sudan conflict continues as thousands die...

Tens of thousands dead in South Sudan conflict: UN
15 Dec.`14 — Tens of thousands of people have died in South Sudan during one year of warfare and the country's leaders are putting their "personal ambitions" ahead of the nation's future, the U.N. secretary-general said Monday.

A year ago Monday fighting broke out in South Sudan's capital, Juba, and spiraled across the country. The U.N. says more than 1.9 million people have been displaced by the warfare, battles that often pit fighters loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, against those who support former Vice President Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on South Sudan's leaders to agree to an inclusive power-sharing arrangement that would address the root causes of the conflict and ensure accountability for any crimes committed on the battlefield.

There is no official death toll for the conflict, but Ban said "tens of thousands" of South Sudanese have died. The fighting has been marked by vicious atrocities, largely ethnic in nature. The two sides have signed several peace deals brokered by neighboring governments, but none has succeeded in stopping the fighting in the oil-rich country.

Displaced people bathe and wash clothes in a stream inside a United Nations compound which has become home to thousands of people displaced by the recent fighting, in Juba, South Sudan. One year after mass violence broke out in South Sudan, battles between government forces and rebel fighters continue, and aid officials say the international community must help residents stave off mass hunger.

South Sudan's civilians face a "dreadful" situation and have been victims of targeted killings and looting, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. "The people of South Sudan are living in a tinderbox, with emotions high, an abundant flow of weapons and with both sides recruiting fighters, often forcefully and including children," Al Hussein said. Government troops and armed youths have been battling in Upper Nile state in recent days, a sign that widespread violence could return now that the six-month rainy season has ended.

Tens of thousands dead in South Sudan conflict UN - Juno