South Sudan’s leader asks for more time to sign peace deal

ADDIS ABABA August 17 South Sudan President Salva Kiir failed to sign a peace deal proposed by regional leaders on Monday, saying he required more time, the mediator of the crisis said.

“In the next 15 days, the president will come back to Addis Ababa and finalise the peace agreement”.

Haile Michael, a spokesman for a regional bloc mediating the talks, said Kiir and Machar will sign what he called a “compromise document” on Monday.

At the national level, the power sharing ratio remained as the original proposal of 53% for government, 33% for SPLM-IO and 14% split equally between former detainees and political parties.

South Sudan has been at war since December 2013 as government troops try to put down a rebellion.

The government is seeking guidance from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional body representing East African nations, on which of the groups to negotiate with, Elia Lomuro, minister in charge of cabinet affairs, told reporters on Friday in the capital, Juba. Machar signed the accord before Kiir refused.

“A peace that can not be sustained can not be signed”, Kiir said Sunday.

“I didn’t know that he was not going to sign”, he said. Even if the signing of the latest deal weren’t a matter of controversy, there is little to suggest that the prospect of peace would have persisted much beyond Monday’s deadline.

Thousands have have been killed in the 20-month civil war in South Sudan; a country which only gained independence from neighbouring Sudan four years ago.

“On the contrary, it will exacerbate and escalate the war”, Machar said in a statement.

The talks suffered another setback this week after a rebel general split with Machar and rejected any possible peace deal between the two.

What should be the final weekend of these talks – and leaders such as Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni have been flying in to Addis Ababa – hoping to witness a deal that will end 20 months of bloody conflict.

Diplomats have warned any failure to sign a peace deal could trigger “serious consequences” for the rival leaders, including possible targeted sanctions and an arms embargo. Recent attacks have included castration, burning people alive and tying children together before slitting their throats.