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South Sudan ceasefire deal signed South Sudan ceasefire deal signed
(about 2 hours later)
South Sudan's government and the rebels fighting against it have signed a cessation-of-hostilities agreement that should at least put a pause on five weeks of warfare. South Sudan's government and rebels have signed a cessation-of-hostilities agreement, pledging to halt fighting within 24 hours, in a deal that should at least put a pause on five weeks of warfare.
Negotiators for the two sides have been meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for weeks. Thursday's signing was the first real progress made.Negotiators for the two sides have been meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for weeks. Thursday's signing was the first real progress made.
Observers hope the agreement will put an end to violence that has claimed thousands of lives and uprooted a half million people since fighting began on 15 December between the government and supporters of the former vice-president Riek Machar. Observers hope the agreement will put an end to violence that has claimed thousands of lives and uprooted 500,000 people since fighting began on 15 December between the government of Salva Kiir and supporters of the former vice-president, Riek Machar.
A technical team has been set up to follow the implementation of the agreement. The UK foreign secretary, William Hague, welcomed the agreement, and said both sides must now ensure their forces stop fighting within 24 hours, as stipulated.
Jose Barahona, the country director for Oxfam, said the agreement gave the world's newest nation "a second chance". Hague said: "The brutal violence of the last month has led to countless deaths and caused thousands of innocent people to endure unimaginable suffering.
"The government and opposition must ensure that their forces implement the agreement immediately and in full.
"It is now vital that both sides work to heal the divisions that led to this conflict, and to strengthen governance in South Sudan. A genuinely inclusive process of national reconciliation is now needed, to give the people of South Sudan confidence that such violence can never reoccur. The UK is ready to lend its full support to these efforts in South Sudan.
"I fully support the African Union's decision to establish a commission of inquiry into alleged crimes committed during the conflict, and call on all sides to co-operate with it to ensure that those responsible for abuses are held accountable." Jose Barahona, the country director for Oxfam, said the agreement gave the world's newest nation "a second chance".
Mediators from the east African regional bloc IGAD, which has been brokering the peace talks, said that under the deal will put in place a team will be put in place to monitor the truce.
South Sudan's government also agreed to release 11 officials close to Machar who were detained after fighting between rival army units broke out on 15 December, though no timeline for their release was given. The status of the detainees had been a major sticking point in the talks.
"These two agreements are the ingredients to create an environment for achieving a total peace in my country," said Taban Deng, head of the rebel delegation.
He said he hoped the deal would "pave the way for a serious national political dialogue aiming at reaching a lasting peace in South Sudan". The world's newest nation only won independence from Khartoum in 2011.
Government negotiator Nhial Deng Nhial said the talks, which have been dragging on in a luxury hotel in Addis Ababa for three weeks, were "not easy".
"We hope to be able to make haste towards an agreement that will end bloodshed," he said, but he voiced scepticism over the ability of the rebels, comprised of renegade army units and ethnic militia, to halt their operations.
"What worries us is whether the agreement on the cessation of hostilities will stick [and] the capacity of the rebel group … to stop fighting," he added. "We would like to take this opportunity to urge the rebel group to heed the voice of reason and abandon the quest for political power through violence."
After initial clashes broke out in the capital, Juba, more than a month ago, the conflict rapidly escalated into all-out war between the regular army, backed by Ugandan troops, and breakaway army units and other militia.
The violence also took on an ethnic dimension as members of Kiir's Dinka tribe clashed with Machar's Nuer group.
Aid workers and analysts believe up to 10,000 people have died, while close to half a million have been forced to flee their homes, with atrocities allegedly committed by both sides.