Government troops and rebel forces have agreed to withdraw from urban areas. The security deal comes ahead of a meeting between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, where potential power-sharing talks will be held.
Image: Reuters/G. Tomasevic
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The government of South Sudan and rebels troops have signed a deal on security arrangements for the region, just days after the violation of a newly agreed ceasefire.
The deal was made following talks hosted by Sudan and was signed by envoys from President Salva Kiir's government and the rebels led by Kiir's former vice president, Riek Machar.
"With the signing of this agreement, it is time for our brothers in South Sudan to put aside their weapons and for South Sudan to achieve stability," Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed told reporters on Friday.
The deal will see the government and rebels withdraw troops from urban areas, a Sudanese official said. The security deal aims to end a four-and-a-half year civil war.
"All parties have agreed to withdraw military troops from urban areas as part of the security agreement," said Jamal Omar, the Sudanese chief of military intelligence.
Peace talks between the two warring sides have been ongoing since last week, when a long-awaited ceasefire was violated hours after it came into effect. Both sides have blamed each other.
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
Image: DW / F. Abreu
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Potential power-sharing
Ahmed said the South Sudan government and rebels had also begun power-sharing talks, adding that Kiir and Machar would meet in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Saturday to try to clinch a final peace deal.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will also attend those talks.
"We expect an agreement at this meeting on a power-sharing blueprint," said Ahmed. "We are optimistic regarding reaching a deal on power sharing in South Sudan."
Famine as a weapon in South Sudan
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Background
South Sudan's 2015 peace deal
In August 2015, Kiir signed a peace deal with the rebels after the UN threatened the country with sanctions. The agreement stated that fighting would immediately stop, that military forces would leave the capital, Juba, and that rebels would be given the post of "first vice president." Efforts to revive the peace deal led to a ceasefire in December 2017, which lasted only a few hours before both sides accused the other of breaking it.
What sparked the civil war?
The landlocked state of South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. The moment was praised around the world, but in 2013 Kiir accused Machar, who was his vice president, of plotting a coup against him. Violence erupted between the two factions, feeding on the country's ethnic tensions.
Humanitarian crisis
The war has claimed at least 50,000 lives and displaced 4 million people. Prolonged fighting has plagued the country with food insecurity; famine was declared in several regions in 2017. In late May, British charity Oxfam called for urgent action to save millions of people from starvation.