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\u003cp\u003eSouth Sudan\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/world/africa/south-sudan-civil-war-deaths.html\u0022\u003eplunged into conflict\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;in 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of an attempted coup d\u0027etat. After five years in which regional powers sought ways to\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.cfr.org/blog/another-hollow-peace-deal-signed-south-sudan\u0022\u003eend the stalemate\u003c/a\u003e, Kiir and Machar\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022http://www.africanews.com/2019/02/10/deadline-looms-for-south-sudan-s-peace-deal-terms\u0022\u003esigned\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;the latest in a series of power-sharing peace agreements.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rivals have agreed to form a transitional government of national unity. Machar \u0026ndash; who initially\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/18/south-sudan-opposition-leader-riek-machar-drc-democratic-republic-congo\u0022\u003efled the country\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;in 2016 \u0026ndash; will be reinstated as first vice president. He will serve alongside four other vice presidents and a reconstituted transitional government is\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.voanews.com/a/south-sudan-new-government-likely-miss-deadline/4817877.html\u0022\u003eset to be established in May 2019\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, serious questions remain over the new agreement\u0026rsquo;s chances of success. Dubbed, the \u0026ldquo;\u003ca href=\u0022https://southsudan.igad.int/index.php/agreements/345-signed-revitalized-agreement-on-the-resolution-of-the-conflict-in-south-sudan\u0022\u003erevitalised agreement\u003c/a\u003e\u0026rdquo; the pact is simply a recycling of the 2015 peace deal which promised an end to the conflict that has\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/south-sudan-humanitarian-bulletin-issue-1-31-january-2019\u0022\u003edisplaced one-third\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;of the population.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe current agreement has less accountability mechanisms, limited provisions for disarmament and demobilisation of armed groups, and no reintegration plan. In addition, there are no penalties for those who do not comply. But most importantly, the agreement does not address the power sharing wrangles within the ruling Sudan People\u0026rsquo;s Liberation Movement, which in the root cause of the conflict.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo days after the agreement was signed\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://apnews.com/6bdfc7e3f9064a9cad90faf3298295b9\u0022\u003efighting continued\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;and violence returned to parts of South Sudan. Despite the ceasefire, the government launched attacks on the militant National Salvation Front in central and western Equatoria where\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.devex.com/news/south-sudan-again-ranked-most-dangerous-place-for-aid-workers-93281\u0022\u003ehumanitarian workers have been attacked\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuccessive ceasefires since the 2013 conflict have been\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/south-sudan-ceasefire-violated-hours-effect-180630110701463.html\u0022\u003eviolated by all sides\u003c/a\u003e. In December 2017, for instance, a\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/south-sudan-army-rebels-allege-truce-breaches-171224173645785.html\u0022\u003epeace deal collapsed\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;shortly after signing with Machar\u0026rsquo;s opposition forces claimed that the government broke the ceasefire. The government claimed that the rebels attacked first.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf the country\u0026rsquo;s recent history is anything to go by, the revitalised agreement is likely to suffer the same fate as previous peace deals, all of which have failed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSouth Sudan\u0026rsquo;s ruling elites have spent decades declaring war and making peace. If concrete steps aren\u0026rsquo;t taken to achieve the latest agreement, then the country will once again descend into anarchy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy the deal will fail\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt will be difficult to make the agreement stick given the environment in South Sudan, a country which has become the most dangerous for\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/south-sudan-declared-most-violent-aid-workers-third-straight-year\u0022\u003ehumanitarian air works\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the reasons is that the military and political elites in the Sudan People\u0026rsquo;s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have developed a taste for amassing wealth through lucrative government posts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey are able to do this because SPLM has absolute control over the executive and legislative arms of government. This excludes Machar and his\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.newtimes.co.rw/africa/south-sudan-opposition-rejects-merger\u0022\u003eSPLM-In Opposition wing\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;from making national decisions and accessing state resources.\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_Ry8CnRR5AEeKlidjzcZXwg"))});
\u003cp\u003eDr Andrew Tchie explains why the recent peace deal signed in South Sudan between President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar does not necessarily mean the end of South Sudan\u0027s troubles.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e
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