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South Sudan: NSF Rebel Group Agrees To A Ceasefire With Government

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Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin/Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

South Sudan

South Sudan's government and the rebels of the National Salvation Front (NSF) announced in Rome the signing of a ceasefire agreement.

The National Salvation Front, which mostly operates in the country's southern states has clashed frequently with gouvernmental forces.

But thanks to a international mediation, firefights should stop between the two forces.

"What were the results of this meeting? It was the commitment of the parties to the ceasefire and, above all, the decision to organise a meeting between the military from both sides to ensure that the opposition is included in the mechanism for monitoring ceasefire violations" said secretary-general of Sant'Egidio, Paolo Impagliazzo, who leaded the negociations between the government representative Barnaba Marial Benjamin and National Salvation Front (NSF) representative, Thomas Cirillo Swaka.

Despite efforts by other rebel groups, the National Salvation Front, hadn't signed the September 2018 peace deal. Thomas Cirillo, the leader of the rebel group has agreed to a ceasefire earlier this year, but it hadn't been respected.

Over 380 000 have died and 4 million people, a third of the country's population have been displaced, in a seven lyear long civil war, that officials now hope to finally bring to an end.