Is peace really possible in South Sudan?

“We welcome the decision by President Salva Kiir Mayardit to choose peace, and recognise this significant step as the full and final approval of the agreement by the government of the Republic of South Sudan”, said Mary Catherine Phee, the US ambassador to South Sudan, who also spoke on behalf of the UK and Norway.

The deal – backed by the regional eight-nation bloc IGAD, as well as the UN, the African Union, China and the “troika” of Britain, Norway and the United States – commits both sides to end fighting and implement a “permanent ceasefire” within 72 hours. The conflict then slid into an ethnic battle (paywall) between the Dinka people-the country’s largest group, which Kiir comes from, and the Nuer people, the second largest ethnic group, to which Machar belongs. Under the deal, he is expected to become Kiir’s top deputy again.

Although Moi’s murder cannot, for the time being, be directly linked to his journalistic work or President Kiir’s comment, it comes against a backdrop of extreme violence for journalists in South Sudan.

At the talks in Addis Ababa, Kiir declined to sign a peace agreement proposed by mediators to end the country’s 20-month conflict, saying he had some reservations about the pact and asking for an extra two weeks.

With this agreement, World Vision remains hopeful that the children of South Sudan will now have a brighter future as they have borne the brunt of this conflict.

But the Nigerian envoy made clear that the council would not move until Tuesday. The civil war has so far displaced 2.2 million people from the country, with about 200,000 taking refuge at United Nations bases that are neither equipped nor staffed to handle the massive influx of people.

In addition to suspending all fighting and outlining a path to new elections, the deal compels Kiir to form an interim unity government with his former deputy, Riek Machar, whom he has been fighting since December 2013.

He told those gathered for the signing ceremony in the capital, Juba, that he had “reservations” about how the mediation was conducted and some of the clauses in the compromise deal.

“The transitional period should start with one national army, not two armies”, the document reads. Earlier in the day, Mr Kiir’s spokesman suggested that once signed, the government would respect the details of the agreement, however.

It calls for a demilitarization of Juba and greater power to rebels in the oil-rich Upper Nile part of their country.

Also pictured are Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Sudan’s First Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh.

Kiir, who was anticipated to signal final week however declined on the time, signed the deal in Juba, the South Sudanese capital.