South Sudan peace monitors optimistic about transitional gov't formation

JUBA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's peace monitors on Tuesday said they were optimistic that warring parties will finally form a unity government in November upon expiry of a sixth-month pre-transitional period.

Berhanu Kebede, chief of staff at Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), said that political factions in South Sudan have made progress in the implementation of the peace deal despite hurdles.

"We in Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission are optimistic that people in South Sudan will surmount these hurdles and ensure that the country get back on its feet again, which will consequently provide a peaceful country with a million women and especially children who continue to bear the greatest brunt of this conflict," Kebede said.

He spoke during the official opening of a three-day workshop that aims to update South Sudan's faith leaders on the content and progress of implementation of the revitalized agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the world's youngest republic.

South Sudan has suffered from a civil war since December 2013, following a spat between President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar, which left tens of thousands of civilians dead and around 4 million others displaced.

Kiir and Machar signed the revitalized peace deal that was midwifed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in September 2018. The parties to the peace deal recently agreed to extend the pre-transitional period for another six months before forming the transitional unity government.