South Sudan president, rebel leader sign peace deal

South Sudan plunged into warfare two years after independence from Sudan in 2011 when a political dispute between Kiir and then vice-president Riek Machar erupted into armed confrontation. A previous peace deal signed in 2015 fell apart a year later after clashes broke out between government forces and rebels.

Machar, leader of the main rebel group, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, and other insurgent factions signed the new agreement with the Juba government after assurances that a power-sharing accord would be honored. The deal, mediated by Sudan, reinstates Machar to his former role as vice-president.