S. Africa lauds peace agreement among SPLM factions

The South African Presidency on Thursday lauded a peace agreement among factions of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), calling it a success of Africa.

"We expect this agreement will silence the guns that have been raging in South Sudan; that it will silence the guns of death, destruction and the displacement of thousands and thousands of people in South Sudan," the Presidency quoted Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as saying.

The agreement was reached Wednesday night in Arusha, Tanzania under the mediation by South Africa and Tanzania.

Ramaphosa, in his capacity as Special Envoy to South Sudan, bore witness to the signing ceremony.

The Arusha Agreement commits the SPLM to rebuilding and democratising the movement internally in order to promote national harmony and end the conflict afflicting the people of South Sudan, the newest state in the international community.

The agreement recognises the collective responsibility within the SPLM for the conflict in South Sudan and calls for a public apology to this effect by all SPLM groups.

Under the agreement, the SPLM will expedite efforts to end the war and to enhance the values and culture of democracy, unity and development.

When South Sudan became a sovereign state on 9 July 2011, SPLM became the ruling party of the new republic. SPLM branches in Sudan separated themselves from SPLM, forming the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North. Further factionalism appeared as a result of the 2013-2014 South Sudanese Civil War, with President Salva Kiir leading the SPLM-Juba and former Vice President Riek Machar leading the SPLM-IO. Endi