Now to end 'long suffering': South Sudan's former rebel leader sworn in as first vice president

Former rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as South Sudan's first vice pr...

JUBA - Former rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as South Sudan’s first vice president on Saturday after he agreed to form a unity government with his long-time rival President Salva Kiir, a move that could end years of fighting in the country.

Kiir and Machar had repeatedly pushed back deadlines to form a government of national unity, a core component of a peace accord signed in 2018. The civil war killed 400,000 people and triggered Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. “This action signifies the end to the war,” Kiir told the gathering of dignitaries and journalists. “Peace has come and it has come to stay.”Kiir met with Machar at State House in Juba on Thursday, saying afterward that a government will be formed and they will resolve outstanding issues, such as the unification of the army, in the coming days. Kiir named Machar as his first vice president on Friday.

The country is almost entirely dependent on oil for revenues, and a binding peace agreement could unlock its reserves. Output currently stands at 180,000 barrels per day down from a peak of 250,000 bpd before the outbreak of the conflict in 2013.

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