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South Sudan’s Kiir reappoints rival Machar as vice president

Friday, 12 February 2016 10:47 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 12 February 2016 11:44 AM ]

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar gestures as he holds a press conference in Kampala, Uganda, Jan. 26, 2016. (© AFP)

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has reappointed his former deputy and current rebel leader Riek Machar as his vice president under a peace deal aimed at ending months of civil war in the country.

A decree by Kiir broadcast on state television said on Thursday that his arch-rival Machar will be reinstated as the first vice president, but gave no more details.

The new announcement has raised hope for the implementation of an August 2015 peace deal, which has been repeatedly broken by both the government troops and rebel forces loyal to Machar.

Machar, who is not currently in South Sudan, has welcomed the decree.

“It is welcome news because it is a step forward in the implementation of the peace agreement,” said Machar, who was vice president from 2005 until he was sacked in 2013 on charges of plotting to overthrow the Kiir government.

It was not immediately clear when Machar would return from Ethiopia to the capital Juba to take up his post.

A file photo of South Sudanese soldiers ©AFP

South Sudan plunged into chaos in December 2013, when fighting erupted outside the capital between troops loyal to Kiir and defectors led by Machar.

The August 2015 peace agreement has so far failed to end the conflict, which has left thousands of people dead and forced more than two million others to flee.

Both the government and rebel sides have been accused of serious violations including mass killings of ethnic groups, recruiting children and carrying out widespread rape, torture and forced displacement of populations.

Last month, a UN panel of experts proposed sanctions on both Kiir and Machar for their role in the brutal war.

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