South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir said Tuesday that he had reached a deal with Riek Machar, the country’s former vice president and rebel leader, to form a long-delayed unity government.
The two men met over the past three days in the capital Juba to resolve outstanding disputes that prevented the formation of a coalition government by a previous November 12 deadline.
There were international concerns that war could resume in South Sudan over the dispute.
Last month, the two leaders bought time by delaying the government’s formation for another 100 days.
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on two sitting South Sudanese ministers, accusing them of obstructing the young country's peace efforts despite promises to form a unity government. The order against Defence Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk and Martin Elia Lomuro, minister of cabinet affairs, freezes any assets they have in the United States and bans them from entering the country.
"The South Sudanese deserve leaders who are committed to laying the groundwork for a successful, peaceful political transition," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
The action is the latest by the United States – a key supporter of the largely Christian nation's independence in 2011 from Arab- and Muslim-dominated Sudan – to show impatience over a leadership battle, which has fuelled fighting that has killed nearly 400,000 people.
The conflict has also displaced 4 million – a third of the country's population.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
