The much awaited peace deal between South Sudan’s warring factions may not be signed despite today’s 5th March deadline which was set by IGAD .
This is after talks aimed at signing the deal were suspended.
The opposition says both sides have failed to reach any deal at the IGAD sponsored talks in Addisa Ababa Ethiopia.
These talks were the last round of the talks between the two parties, where president Salva Kiir and his opponent Riek Machar who was also his former vice president were expected to find a lasting solution to the conflict in South Sudan.
The two leaders failed to agree on the last major outstanding issues which include federalism, status of forces, transitional security arrangements, wealth-sharing, status of national legislature, national debts, transitional justice and parameters of the permanent constitution making process.
The East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), gave the two principals 5 March deadline to resolve all the contentious issues and sign a final peace agreement.
However, in the last three days of their direct face-to-face negotiations, Kiir and Machar failed to agree.
A rebel’s spokesman blamed the government for what he said was unnecessary intransigence on all major issues but added that the two leaders will on Thursday, 5 March deadline, negotiate on other outstanding issues on governance which they did not discuss on Wednesday.
