By Denis Dumo
JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar said on Thursday he would return to the capital Juba on April 18 to form a transitional government with President Salva Kiir, more than two years after a feud between the two men erupted into war.
Kiir sacked Machar as vice president in 2013, exacerbating a political dispute that erupted into fighting in December that year between soldiers loyal to both men, reopening ethnic rifts between Kiir's Dinka group and Machar's Nuer.
Fighting was initially contained to Juba but Machar and his supporters left the capital. After that violence spread across South Sudan, killing thousands and forcing more than 2.3 million people to flee their homes.
Under pressure from the United States, the United Nations and other powers, the sides signed an initial peace deal in August and agreed to share out ministerial positions in January. The deal has broken down repeatedly.
"I am therefore confirming the date of my arrival to be April 18 and thereafter form with President Kiir the Transitional Government of National Unity and hold the Transitional National Council of Ministers," Machar said in a letter to the head of the body monitoring the implementation of the peace deal.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said in a statement on Wednesday it had helped Machar's SPLM/A group transport 802 military and police officers to Juba, including two of its generals.
Machar said in February that a condition to his return to Juba and taking up his old position of vice president was the demilitarization of the capital and that some of his soldiers be allowed to return with him.
The conflict has hit hard the economy of South Sudan, an oil exporter. Its currency has weakened, inflation has spiraled and oil revenues have dropped due to falling production and falling world prices.
(Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
© Thomson Reuters 2016 All rights reserved.
Newer articles:
- South Sudan Rebels Move Into Capital - 07/04/2016 10:15
- S. Sudan rebels move into capital; risky part of peace deal - 07/04/2016 10:06
- Khartoum sentences 22 South Sudanese, three others to death - 07/04/2016 09:00
- Over 55,000 South Sudanese flee to Sudan in three months: UN - 07/04/2016 07:06
- USAID Joins Nespresso and TechnoServe to Support South Sudan's Coffee Farmers - 07/04/2016 04:07
Older news items
- South Sudan rebels take up designated positions in Juba - 07/04/2016 03:43
- Sudan's 13-year conflict rages on: UN says 138,000 people displaced in new fighting in Darfur - 07/04/2016 01:33
- China donates 1,700 metric tonnes of rice to South Sudan - 07/04/2016 01:22
- South Sudan Rebels Seek to Delay Inauguration of Transitional Government - 06/04/2016 23:43
- Sudan's Omar al-Bashir 'to step down in 2020' - 06/04/2016 20:07
Latest news items (all categories):
- Hope for Christmas gift as South Sudan talks return to Nairobi - 05/12/2024 10:26
- Chinese medical team brings relief to South Sudan patients - 05/12/2024 10:18
- Sudanese bishop speaks about being brutalized by soldiers - 05/12/2024 10:08
- President Biden: Absent Principles - No Honoring Words - Broken Promises - 05/12/2024 09:55
- South Sudan’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Continues – Analysis - 01/12/2024 17:47
Random articles (all categories):
- S. Sudan civil society entity holds peace building training in Wau - 25/09/2017 23:52
- Norwegian tells about his captivity in Sudan - Sacramento Bee - 26/05/2012 11:58
- RSS a Rotten Society Mismanaging Itself into Self destruction? - 13/03/2013 10:37
- South Sudan military court sentences soldiers to death for killing civilians - 08/03/2019 10:05
- South Sudan rampage toll may be in thousands amid threats of genocide - 10/01/2012 00:00
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 58418 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22215 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21357 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 18882 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 17995 times