Regional leaders in Juba to witness Sudan peace deal signing

Oct 03, 2020

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has been mediating the talks on behalf of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

DIPLOMACY   PEACE

JUBA - Several heads of state from the Great Lakes region have arrived in Juba, South Sudan to witness the signing of the final Sudan Peace Agreement aimed at restoring peace in Sudan. 

Uganda is being represented by Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda while leaders from Ethiopia, Somalia, Chad among others have also arrived at the Freedom Square to witness the historic event that is expected to end 17 years of conflict in Sudan. 

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has been mediating the talks on behalf of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). 

The secretary of the mediation committee, Dhieu Mathok, said at least 13 rebel factions have agreed to end hostilities with the Khartoum government. 

Today's peace deal is a follow-up of the one signed on August 31, where Sudan's government and the main rebel alliance agreed on a peace deal to end 17 years of conflict. 

The agreement covers key issues around security, land ownership, transitional justice, power-sharing, and the return of people who fled their homes. (Photo by John Tugume)


The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of rebel groups from the western region of Darfur and the southern states of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, signed the peace agreement at a ceremony in Juba, the capital of neighbouring South Sudan, which has hosted and helped mediate the long-running talks since late 2019.

The agreement covers key issues around security, land ownership, transitional justice, power-sharing, and the return of people who fled their homes because of war, according to Aljazeera.

It also provides for the dismantling of rebel forces and the integration of their fighters into the national army.

The deal was looked at as a significant step in the transitional leadership's goal of resolving multiple, deeply rooted civil conflicts.

Aljazeera also reported that the August peace deal was welcomed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway as a first step in rebuilding stability in the country.

About 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebels took up arms there in 2003, according to the United Nations.

Conflict in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile erupted in 2011, following unresolved issues from bitter fighting there in Sudan's 1983-2005 civil war, Aljazeera reported.

However, two rebel factions refused to take part in the deal.

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