After a series of failed peace deals, President Salva Kiir has signed a truce with rebels. The deal also allows the formation of a transitional government ahead of fresh elections.
Image: Reuters/M. Nureldin Abdallah
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South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, and his nemesis and former vice president, Riek Machar, said on Wednesday that they have reached a "permanent" peace deal. Although the two have announced similar truces before, this ceasefire is set to take effect within three days and is giving people hope that it may finally end the country's brutal civil conflict.
"This day was expected by our people in South Sudan and it has now come," Kiir said after he signed the agreement.
For his own part, Machar said the deal was the "ending of the war."
The truce also permits members of the African Union and another regional group, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to deploy peacekeeping troops.
South Sudan will also be given a new, transitional government to rule the country for 36 months leading up to national elections.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan since 2013, when Kiir accused Machar of trying to orchestrate a coup. The devastating war destroyed all the optimism that had surrounded the country's split from Sudan two years earlier.
South Sudan: children of the war zone
In South Sudan, internally displaced persons are given sanctuary in UN Protection of Civilians (POC) sites. These refugees include unaccompanied children. Nonviolent Peaceforce is one organization trying to help them.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Displaced persons, missing parents
More than 30,000 people live in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, capital of South Sudan. Around 7,000 are children who have lost contact with their parents. The NGO Nonviolent Peaceforce is trying to reunite them.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Family tracing and reunification
The first step is to establish a child's identity and then to collect as much information as possible which could assist in locating the parents. This data is placed online and can be accessed by all international organizations working in child protection in South Sudan. If the search for the family proves fruitless, or if the child has been orphaned, foster parents are found.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
All-female peacekeepers
In South Sudan, Nonviolent Peaceforce focuses on the protection of women and children, who rarely participate in armed conflict, but are disproportionately affected by it. To this end, Nonviolent Peaceforce is forming all-female Women's Peacekeeping Teams, specially trained in tackling sexual and gender-based violence.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Women's Peacekeeping Teams
As well as training, the Women's Peacekeeping Teams are also given follow-up support as they seek to prevent sexual and gender-based violence. The teams liaise with women in the communities, helping them to identify risks and counter them. The teams are also in contact with authorities so that culprits can be held accountable for their actions.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Ulang in Upper Nile State
The civil war began as a political dispute, but it has reopened ethnic fault lines between the Dinka people of President Salva Kiir and the Nuer of rebel leader Riek Machar . Ulang in Upper Nile State is dominated by the Nuer. It was attacked by government in troops in May 2015 and dozens were killed. The once tranquil region found itself caught up in conflict.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Child protection projects in Ulang
Nonviolent Peaceforce runs a child protection project in Ulang, one of six in South Sudan. These projects vary in accordance with local needs. In Ulang, community volunteers ensure that the children have access to recreation and sports.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Soccer on a former battleground
At Ulang's Kopuot Primary School, children are playing a game of soccer as part of a child protection project. The building in the background is pockmarked with bullet holes, an ever-present reminder that the school was a target for government troops during their May offensive.
Image: DW / F. Abreu
Back to school
All teaching materials and other supplies at the school were destroyed in the government offensive. But now, in makeshift classrooms, the struggle to acquire an education goes on. Author: Fellipe Abtreu
