South Sudan Optimistic About Reaching Peace Deal Implementation Deadline In May - Minister

The government of South Sudan is confident that it will meet the deadline for the implementation of a power-sharing agreement with the country's main rebel group by mid-May, South Sudanese Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial told Sputnik on Monday

ADDIS ABABA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2019) The government of South Sudan is confident that it will meet the deadline for the implementation of a power-sharing agreement with the country's main rebel group by mid-May, South Sudanese Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial told Sputnik on Monday.

"The implementation is supposed to come to an end sometime in mid-May this year, and going by what we have achieved so far, we are fairly optimistic that we will be able to meet the deadline and implement the provisions that we need to implement before the new transitional government of unity takes office," Nhial said.

He stressed that there were still a lot of tasks that needed to be accomplished before the peace deal could be fully implemented.

"Yes, there is progress being made, there is progress being made in all fields.

It's not easy. There are a lot of requirements, things that we need to accomplish during what we call the pre-transitional period, before the transitional period proper starts in mid-May, but we are moving steadily," Nhial said.

A civil war erupted in South Sudan in 2013, just two years after the country gained independence from Sudan. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir accused then-Vice President Riek Machar and several others of planning a coup, resulting in an armed confrontation between the government and rebel forces led by Machar. A fragile peace was reached in September after several failed attempts to end the fighting. As part of the deal, Machar will return as vice president.