UN hints of possible agreement on South Sudan

The Special Representative for South Sudan and head of the UN Mission in the country, David Shearer has said , the last round of peace talks on the Eastern african nation could end on an agreement paving the way for the end of the war.
Shearer told reporters, “It might not go as far as we hoped, but it could provide a framework for discussions.”

The talks, which began on February 5 under the auspices of Ethiopia, are aimed at finding a solution to one of the worst conflicts in Africa.

Discussions focused on governance and security.

The African Union and the Security Council have threatened to impose sanctions on those blocking peace efforts in South Sudan , entering its fifth year of war this year.

“The overall level of violence has dropped,” said the emissary, saying “encouraged”. He heads the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan , which has 14,000 peacekeepers, military and police.

South Sudan plunged into crisis in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former vice president Riek Machar of plotting a coup, only two years after his partition with Sudan.

The conflict marked by ethnic atrocities left tens of thousands dead, nearly four million displaced and a major humanitarian crisis.

AFP