The parties to the conflict in South Sudan on Sunday evening signed a final peace pact, ending more than four years of conflict in the youngest nation.
President Salva Kiir, opposition leader Riek Machar, a representative of the former political detainees and representatives for other South Sudan opposition groups signed on the agreement during a signing ceremony at Sudan’s Friendship Hall in Khartoum.
The peace agreement focuses on governance and security between the warring parties.
Sudanese foreign minister Al-Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed announced that the holdout opposition groups have finally agreed to sign the deal.
Direct peace talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum between President Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar, in addition to representatives of other South Sudan’s opposition groups, were hosted under patronage of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Under the pact, South Sudanese government and opposition groups greed to have five vice presidents during the transitional period, with Riek Machar reinstated as the country’s first vice president.
The deal also provides for 35 ministries during the transitional period. According to the deal, there will be 550 members of parliament.
