South sudan rival leaders given 100 days to form unity government

A significant development in the ongoing peace process in South Sudan!

According to reports, the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have given South Sudan's rival leaders, President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar, a 100-day deadline to form a unity government.

This deadline was set during a meeting of the AU and IGAD in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the two organizations urged the parties to finalize the formation of a transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) by November 12, 2023.

The TGoNU is a key component of the 2018 peace agreement, which aimed to end the country's devastating civil war. The agreement called for the formation of a power-sharing government, with Machar as the first vice president, to govern the country for a period of 36 months.

However, the formation of the TGoNU has been delayed several times due to disagreements over issues such as the composition of the government, the allocation of ministerial positions, and the implementation of security arrangements.

The AU and IGAD have been mediating the peace process and have been pushing the parties to finalize the formation of the TGoNU. The organizations have warned that failure to meet the deadline could lead to a breakdown in the peace process and a return to violence.

The international community, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway, has also been urging the parties to finalize the formation of the TGoNU and to implement the peace agreement in its entirety.

The success of the peace process is crucial for South Sudan, which has been ravaged by conflict since 2013, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions more.