South Sudan: New hope for peace as rebel leader Machar returns to mark peace deal

(Reuters) – South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar returned to the capital Juba on Wednesday to celebrate a peace deal, more than 2 years after conflict erupted and forced him to leave the country.

Machar flew in with a small retinue but none of his troops – then met his long-time rival, President Salva Kiir, and a line-up of regional leaders who have spent years pressing both men to end their conflict.

“We need peace,” Machar told thousands of people who gathered at a ceremony marking the accord that he, Kiir and other groups signed this month.

The world’s youngest nation plunged into conflict in 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president.

There have been sporadic incidences of fighting since the latest agreement was signed, but violence has largely died down.

Kiir hosted Wednesday’s ceremony near the mausoleum of national hero John Garang – the same spot where the country celebrated its independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of north-south war fueled by oil, ethnicity and religion.

Leaders from Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Somalia attended the ceremony.

Under pressure from governments in East Africa and the African Union, Machar’s group, other rebel factions and the government last month signed a peace deal, under which he will again become vice president.