South Sudan's government announced on Tuesday the creation of a unified armed forces command, after President Salva Kiir ordered military officers loyal to his vice president, Riek Machar, to be officially integrated into a unified command of the army.
The move, reported by the state media, implements a key provision of the 2018 peace deal that ended five years of civil war.
Frequent outbreaks of violence over the past few years have raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict, as the two sides remained deadlocked over major issues such as ethnic divisions and the unification of their forces, with troops loyal to Mr Kiir and Mr Machar fighting against each other.
But last week, the president and his deputy signed an agreement to unify the command of the security forces, easing political tension in the African country.
The duo agreed to a 60-40 distribution in favour of Mr Kiir's side of leadership posts in the army, police and national security forces.
Mr Machar also submitted a list of officers to be absorbed into the security services.
The edicts “come into force on the date (April 12, 2022) of its signature by the President”, the national broadcaster SSBC said, after reading out a series of presidential decrees.
Under the terms of the deal signed on April 3, the graduation of the unified forces should be completed within two months.
Mr Machar's military spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said the move would help stop the continuing ceasefire violations in different parts of the country.
“The SPLA-IO welcome the decision. It is really long awaited. We just hope that this will pave a way forward to the completion to the unification process,” Mr Paul Gabriel told Reuters.
The US, the UK and Norway, supporting South Sudan’s peace deal, said recently they were concerned that the new outbreak of fighting threatened to undermine the government’s unity.
Last month, the UN Security Council voted to extend its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan by another year.
The UN has repeatedly criticised South Sudan's leadership for its role in stoking violence and has accused the government of rights violations amounting to war crimes over deadly attacks in the country's south-west last year.
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Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
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Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
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An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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Director: Mahdi Fleifel
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Rating: 4.5/5
