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Norway welcomes return of South Sudan opposition to Juba

Xinhua, December 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Norway on Monday welcomed the return of South Sudan's opposition representatives to the capital Juba for the first time since the conflict in the African country broke out in late 2013.

"This is a long-awaited and important step on the path to peace in South Sudan," Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende was quoted as saying in a statement.

"The return of the opposition to Juba could be a turning point for South Sudan. Work can now begin on establishing a transitional government of national unity. We are hopefully one step closer to ending this tragic conflict," Brende said.

In August, South Sudan's government and the opposition signed a peace agreement that aimed to bring an end to nearly two years of conflict and both parties declared a ceasefire immediately after the signing.

Despite this, hostilities between both sides continued and South Sudan's opposition representatives only returned to the capital city on Monday.

"The return of the opposition shows that both parties in South Sudan now have the necessary commitment and determination to work towards securing peace," Brende said. "I expect the parties to maintain this level of commitment in the time ahead, as they carry out the challenging task of implementing the peace agreement."

A delegation of South Sudan's major rebel group arrived in Juba on Monday to negotiate with President Salva Kiir's government on implementation of a peace deal signed by the two sides.

According to local South Sudanese media, the delegation left the rebel-held east of South Sudan to Ethiopia before flying to Juba, noting that the delegation did not include the rebel leader Riek Machar.

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

The clashes have killed thousands of South Sudanese and forced around 1.9 million to flee their homes.

The South Sudan peace process has been supported by regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations, the African Union, China and the troika of Britain, Norway and the United States. Enditem