South Sudan: Kiir and Machar in face to face talks in bid to end conflict

South Sudan President Salva Kiir arrived in Ethiopia’s capital on Friday to meet rebel leader Riek Machar under growing international pressure for an end to the conflict.

The talks in Addis Ababa will be the first since the outset of a nearly five-month conflict.

There has been pressure on the 2 leaders to come to the negotiating table. Regional diplomats say negotiating an end to the fighting is a priority. The Kiir administration announced on Wednesday it had ordered the army to suspend attacks on rebels under the terms of an agreed “month of tranquility.”

The meeting between Kiir and Machar was to be held later on Friday at the mediation of Ethiopia’s prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

The conflict erupted in mid-December between soldiers loyal to Kiir and those backing Machar and has spread across the country. A ceasefire signed by both camps in January never took hold and South Sudan, has since lost a third of its economically vital oil output.

The conflict has resulted in many casualties and thousands displaced from their homes. Regional partners in the east African community are anxiously working to resolve the conflict, having invested a great deal of capital in employment generating infrastructure projects that have been negatively impacted by the conflict.

Source: Newswires