South Sudan gov't committed to peace deal: envoy

The South Sudanese government was committed to the peace agreement signed in August 2015 that ended nearly two years of civil war, said James Pitia Morgan, South Sudan's permanent representative to the African Union.

"Our Government has agreed to implement the August 2015 agreement and we have welcomed the opposition to come home and we are working with them but I think this kind of agitations are what causes problem sometimes," he said in an interview with Xinhua at the sidelines of the on-going 27th AU Summit in Rwanda capital Kigali.

Morgan urged the country's opposition to work jointly with the government as stipulated in the peace deal so as to see lasting peace in the oil rich country.

"The future of south Sudan depends on the South Sudanese people. They have to be committed to peace," he said, while calling on the international community to scale up pressure on the Riek Machar-led opposition to work jointly with the government to avoid such ugly incidences.

Fierce fighting broke out Friday between troops loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar.

More than 300 people were reportedly killed during days of fighting. On Monday evening, Kiir and Machar ordered respective ceasefire which appears to be holding.

The AU is holding its 27th Ordinary summit in Kigali Rwanda and is being attended by representatives from the 54 member states. Endit