Economy

S Sudan’s Salva Kiir and Machar strike peace deal

KIIR

From left: South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in Khartoum on June 26, 2018. AFP PHOTO

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar on Tuesday inked an agreement on “some points” to end the war.

The two met in Khartoum on Monday to continue their face-to- face talks and mute all the stumbling blocks to peace in the young nation.

On Tuesday, the two leaders reached a compromise on a number of outstanding issues.

The areas agreed upon include a permanent ceasefire, cantonments for all forces and the deployment of forces by Igad and the African Union to safeguard the ceasefire.

President Kiir and Dr Machar further agreed to have three capital cities; namely Juba, Wau and Malakal on a temporary basis to host the three proposed vice-presidents.

According to the signed agreement, the two rivals agreed to allow the Khartoum government to secure oil fields in South Sudan in coordination with the Juba administration, and to rehabilitate the wells to restore the previous levels of production.

They also agreed to work together again for the third time after their long disagreement proved difficult for peace and stability.

Sudanese President Omar Bashir on Monday promised to end the war in South Sudan and pave the way for rigorous development in the war-torn state.

His promise seems to be bearing positive results. “I would like to assure everyone that Sudan will work hard and try all measures based on our experience during the war and peace times to ensure that this initiative is a success.

“We shall use our experience in the management of national and community dialogues to address all the issues,” Mr Bashir said.

Interestingly, however, the Sudanese leader is a suspect wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide committed in western Darfur region.