South Sudan peace deal's first test as rebel forces enter capital

There to greet them are three Australian citizens - Dobuol Lual from Melbourne's eastern suburbs; Chuol Pouk from Bayswater; and David Gatwech, from Blacktown in Sydney.

Mr Lual, a member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-opposition (SPLM-IO), is overseeing the orderly arrival of 1370 rebel soldiers in Juba as part of the country's fragile peace agreement.

The final 91 soldiers flew in on Sunday afternoon on a Kenyan-flagged charter plane from Malakal in South Sudan's north, emerging from the jet unarmed and in clean, new uniforms.

"I think it's a good day," said Lual, shaking every soldier's hand before they stepped onto a bus waiting to take them to a newly formed rebel camp on the city's outskirts.

Loaded onto the bus, the troops sang in the Nuer language: "People, we are coming from the bush, but not far, the bush of South Sudan" and "Viva SPLA!".

They arrive in a tense city. The opposition had earlier in the day issued a statement accusing the government of mobilising "a force outside of the regular army" and bringing "eight lorries of troops" into Juba "in violation" of the peace agreement.

The rebels' arrival - as a protection force - paves the way for the return of their leader, Riek ^[1]Machar^[2], on April 18. The peace agreement has returned him to the post of vice-president in an uneasy coalition.

Machar has not been back to Juba since he fled in December 2013, when fighting erupted between ethnic Dinka and Nuer soldiers just over two years after South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan to the north^[3].

Mass killings of Nuers in Juba followed^[4] and the conflict quickly spread across the country, splintering largely along ethnic lines. 

Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed and over 2 million people displaced^[5] by the conflict.

A peace agreement was signed between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and Machar, a Nuer, in August last year^[6]. Machar's return will mark its first real test.

References

1. ^{^} Riek (www.bing.com)
2. ^{^} Machar (www.bing.com)
3. ^{^} South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan to the north (www.bing.com)
4. ^{^} Mass killings of Nuers in Juba followed (www.bing.com)
5. ^{^} tens of thousands of people have been killed and over 2 million people displaced (www.bing.com)
6. ^{^} signed between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and Machar, a Nuer, in August last year (www.bing.com)