South Sudan accord in danger of collapse, think-tank warns
Experts say unless army includes rebels, and other issues are settled, upcoming peace deal will break down
Nairobi — South Sudan’s six-month-old peace deal is doomed to collapse unless the sides can settle a string of disputes and bring former rebels into the army before the formation of a new government in May, a think-tank said on Wednesday. About 400,000 people have been killed and more than a third of the country’s 12-million people uprooted by the five-year civil war, a conflict punctuated by multiple rounds of mediation followed by renewed bloodshed. The accord signed in September by President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar — the former vice president — has reduced fighting but could break down over several disputes, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report. “The peace agreement is stalling and is at risk of collapse if more political deals aren’t struck,” said Alan Boswell, the group’s South Sudan analyst. There was no immediate comment from the government or Machar’s supporters. The deal called on the two main rival factions to assemble, screen and ...
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