Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has urged South Sudan leaders to turn their backs on ethnic politics that have frequently sparked violence in the country.
President Museveni said that the war in the young nation was fuelled by tribal politics that seek to oppress the citizens.
“Ethnic politics is old politics of oppression and opportunism…tribal politics is totally an enemy of human growth and development of society,” said President Museveni during the signing of the final power sharing deal in Khartoum on Sunday.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed an accord on governance and security arrangements in latest efforts to end the civil war in the country.
Under the deal, Kiir will continue to serve as president and Dr Machar reinstated as the first vice president.
Other opposition factions also signed the pact.
The parties are expected to form an interim government in three months’ time which will then hold power for another three years.
President Kiir, after signing the deal, said that he would commit himself to implement the peace agreement in “letter and spirit.”
He also requested for immediate deployment of Regional Protection Force (RFP) to Juba to safeguard the transitional period.
RFP is an arm of the UN Security Council and was deployed in the country after the July 2016 implosion.
The force has about 4,000 troops in the country.
President Kiir further called on the US to support the peace implementation process and dismissed any doubt that the peace will collapse.
On his side, Dr Machar expressed his willingness to work with his boss and appealed to other factions to respect the peace deal to avoid a repeat of the previous accord collapse.
Sudanese President Omar Bashir, who brokered the deal, said that the mediators will closely monitor the process to ensure that the agreement was implemented.
The Eastafrican
