South Sudan's conflicting parties to sign final peace deal in Khartoum next week

KHARTOUM, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The last round of negotiations between Sudan's conflicting parties is expected to conclude on Aug. 27 with a signing of a final peace deal to end the civil war which has been ongoing since 2013.

In June, the parties, negotiating in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement on South Sudan.

Also, on Aug. 5, the parties signed a deal on power-sharing and security arrangements.

The third deal, expected to be signed on Aug. 27, will be complementary to the previous two agreements and include resolutions of outstanding issues that had not been resolved before.

"The negotiating parties have reached a final formula for the draft peace deal which is ready to be signed on the upcoming Monday (Aug. 27)," Stephen Lual Ngor, member of the South Sudan opposition alliance in the negotiation, said in a statement Wednesday.

He added that there is a great progress regarding item (4) in the power-sharing agreement, noting that discussions are ongoing regarding determining the states' borders based on item (4) and that there is possibility to overcome the dispute over the border issues.

He further said that a final agreement has also been reached regarding powers of the vice presidents, formation of committees and the number of states.

He noted that the challenge ahead of the parties to the conflict in South Sudan is represented in the implementation of the security arrangements, and assembling and training of the joint forces which constitute the core forces of South Sudan's national army.

In the meantime, Thomas William, a South Sudanese political analyst, told Xinhua he regarded the final deal to be signed on Aug. 27 as "a culmination" of Sudan's initiative to reactivate the peace process in South Sudan.

"The expected deal will represent a comprehensive agreement that addresses all issues and concerns of South Sudan's conflicting parties," said William.

The Sudanese mediators earlier delayed the signing with initial letters on the draft of the final comprehensive peace agreement, which was set to be on Aug. 19, as the opposition group, led by Riek Machar, had not yet submitted their observations on the draft deal.

The third round of peace talks between the South Sudanese rivals started in Khartoum on Aug. 13 to discuss the outstanding issues related to powers of the president and vice presidents, representation in the judicial authority, revision of the number of the states and naming new ministries.

Earlier the South Sudanese opposition alliance demanded revision of the administrative division of South Sudan and reconsideration of the number of the 32 states.

In October 2015, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir issued a decree dissolving the Council of the States, which operated under the administrative division of ten states, and establishing 28 states.

In January 2017, Kiir issued a separate decree establishing an additional four states.