South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit shakes hands with ex-vice president and former rebel leader Riek Machar during their meeting in Juba, South Sudan September 9, 2019./Reuters
South Sudan's former rebel leader Riek Machar said he has agreed to form a unity government with President Salva Kiir following a meeting at state house on Thursday.
"We had a meeting with the president on the outstanding issues. We have agreed to form the government on 22 Feb."
President Kiir confirmed the agreement.
The rival leaders had twice missed deadlines in the past year to form the transitional government that is expected to lead to elections in three years’ time, much to the impatience of the United States and others. Without that new government, many feared, South Sudan might slide into fighting again.
Under terms of the agreement, President Kiir will appoint Machar as his first vice president, or top deputy. That arrangement has twice led to conflict — once when the civil war erupted in late 2013 and again in mid-2016 after Machar returned to the post under a previous peace deal. He ended up fleeing the country on foot.
The president said security arrangements, one crucial issue, will be resolved after the government's formation. He said the protection of Machar and others with the opposition will be under his responsibility.
Another politically sensitive issue, the number of states, appears to have been resolved after Kiir over the weekend announced a "painful" compromise of 10 plus three administrative areas, down from 32.
Major challenges in the peace process remain, including the delicate process of integrating tens of thousands of former rival forces into a united army. That process has been marked by delays, the United Nations and others have said, noting that some of the forces appear to be poorly provisioned.