Roundup: S. Sudan peace deal at stake after Kiir's decision to expand states

South Sudan's most recent peace deal is facing a new challenge that threatens its collapse after President Salva Kiir Mayardit decided to expand the country's states, a move seen by the opposition as a violation of the deal signed last August.

In a sudden move, Kiir on Friday issued a decree expanding the country's states to 28 instead of 10.

According to the decree, the oil-rich areas have become affiliated to the states inhabited by communities belonging to the Dinka tribe of Kiir, such as northern upper Fuluj and Ruweng; most of these states were under the influence of the opposition.

GOVN'T SAYS DECISION RESPONSE TO POPULAR DEMANDS

The government decision was made to create a federal system to run the country, in response to "popular demands," Information Minister Michel Makuei was quoted as saying by South Sudan media.

"This decision achieves social justice and fulfills those popular demands," Makuei said, noting that some communities were marginalized, particularly with regard to power and wealth sharing.

He said the decision, which helps create an administrative system that is able to provide services and achieve sustainable development and social justice, would go into effect within a month.

However, these justifications have not convinced the South Sudanese armed opposition, led by Riek Machar, who accused Kiir of violating the peace deal signed by the two sides last August.

OPPOSITION SAYS DECREE VIOLATES PEACE DEAL

"The presidential decree issued unilaterally by President Salva Kiir Mayardit creating 28 states in the Republic of South Sudan is a clear violation of the Peace Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan," said Machar in a statement issued late Sunday.

The decision was a clear message to the world that Kiir is not committed to the peace agreement and can violate it at any time, the statement said.

The re-division of South Sudan on the basis of a federal system has been one of the major demands of the armed opposition, but Machar criticized Kiir for unilaterally taking the decision on the matter.

SPREAD OF ETHNIC CONFLICTS FEARED

Meanwhile, South Sudanese analysts expressed fear that the new administrative division would deepen the tribal conflicts in the south and lead to conflicts between border ethnic groups.

"There are chronic ethnic issues in South Sudan and we are afraid that the decision would escalate them further," William Deng, a South Sudanese political analyst, told Xinhua.

"The authority in South Sudan will face practical difficulties with regard to the process of demarcating the borders between the new states, which is likely to prompt conflicts between the border ethnic groups," he noted.

Last August, the South Sudanese rivals signed a peace deal proposed by the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD).

The IGAD's proposed peace document granted the current government a majority in the legislature, the position of president and 53 percent of ministerial portfolios.

For the rebels, it proposed a new position of first vice president and 33 percent of ministerial portfolios, while the remaining 14 percent was allotted to the other opposition groups.

However, with regard to the major war-affected areas of the Greater Upper Nile region (Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity States), the document suggested 53 percent to go to the rebels and 33 percent to the current government.

South Sudan was plunged into violence in December 2013 when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Machar.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension. The clashes killed thousands of South Sudanese and forced around 1.9 million to flee their homes. Endit