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It’s been hailed as a new beginning for Sudan. The Transitional Government in Khartoum and the main rebel alliance have finally signed a peace deal to kick off an end to 17 years of armed conflict.

Following months of negotiation in the South Sudanese capital-Juba, the deal seeks to end violence in the hot spot regions of Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

However, previous peace accords in 2006 and 2011 failed to break contentious deadlocks, and now this latest deal promises more independence, power, compensation and re-integration; which have been the main issues of dispute in the decades-long conflict.

So, will Sudan’s latest peace deal hold? And what will be the implications for the people in a region long ravaged by war?