The government and rebels in South Sudan have agreed to end
fighting and form a transitional government within 60 days, Ethiopia says.
BBC reports that the regional Igad bloc, mediating the
conflict, has threatened sanctions if they fail to abide by the agreement.
It follows a rare meeting between President Salva Kiir and
rebel chief Riek Machar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Previous deals to end the violence have been broken by both
sides, compounding the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Thousands have now died in the conflict that started as a
political dispute between Kiir and Machar, his sacked deputy, but escalated
into ethnic violence.
More than a million people have fled their homes since
fighting erupted last December.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced the
new agreement on Tuesday, after Kiir and Machar met on the sidelines of an Igad
summit on Tuesday,
“If they don’t abide to this agreement, Igad as an
organisation will act to implement peace in South Sudan. On that, we have
different options including sanctions and other punitive actions as well,” he
said.
“There has been a growing tendency to continue with the
war,” he added, criticising both sides for breaking a previous ceasefire agreed
on 9 May.
It is the first time South Sudan’s neighbours have issued
such a warning, reflecting a growing frustrating with the South Sudanese
leaders, correspondents say.
The US has already imposed sanctions on both sides of the
conflict, singling out commanders loyal to both Kiir and Machar.
The violence began in December when Kiir accused his sacked
deputy of plotting a coup.
Machar denied the allegation, but then marshalled a rebel
army to fight the government.
The battle assumed ethnic overtones, with Machar relying
heavily on fighters from his Nuer ethnic group and Kiir from his Dinka
community.
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