UN Chief to Meet With South Sudan President

Thursday February 25, 2016

FILE - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir addresses a news conference at the Presidential palace in Juba. Ban's visit comes as opposing groups in the South Sudan peace process prepare to form a unity government.

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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon travels to Juba, South Sudan, Thursday to meet with President Salva Kiir and visit a U.N. shelter for civilians affected by the conflict.

Ban's visit comes as opposing groups in the South Sudan peace process prepare to form a unity government mandated by the peace agreement they signed in August.

South Sudan's Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission on Tuesday announced an agreement to allow 1,370 opposition forces into the capital in preparation for rebel leader Riek Machar to join a transitional government.

More security forces are expected to join them after the power-sharing transitional government is formed.

After two years of civil war, rebel leader Machar and South Sudan President Salva Kiir signed a peace deal in August, agreeing to run a unity government for 30 months before holding elections. Kiir appointed Machar as his vice president last week, in the first step toward forming the unity government.

Despite the moves toward solidarity, fighting continues in parts of South Sudan. Over the past two years, tens of thousands of people have died and more than two million have been displaced because of the violence.

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