AU Welcomes South Sudan’s Power-sharing Agreement

Addis Ababa August 08/2018 Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, welcomes the signing of a power-sharing accord that aimed to end the civil war in South Sudan. The Chairperson said the signing is ‘a major step’ in the efforts to end the civil war in Southern Sudan and the suffering inflicted on its populations. Chairperson Faki urged the South Sudanese parties to implement the agreement thus signed, and to demonstrate the spirit of compromise required. “The people of Southern Sudan have suffered too much, and its aspirations for lasting peace and security can be postponed.” the Chairperson said. He also commends President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and other leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for their efforts in the search for peace, security and reconciliation in Sudan South. On Sunday, South Sudan's warring parties reached a power-sharing deal to end the civil war that killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar signed the deal in Khartoum, under which the rebel leader is set to return to a unity government as the first of five vice presidents. The deal, which paves the way to a final peace accord, was signed in the presence of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his counterparts from Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti, along with foreign dignitaries.