ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Monday urged South Sudan's disputing parties to urgently implement major commitments of the recent peace accord.
The Chairperson made the call during his meeting with South Sudan's main opposition leader Riek Machar on Monday at the headquarters of the AU in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
"Together with the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui, I received Dr. Riek Machar who briefed us on developments following the Tripartite Summit on the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan," Mahamat said after his meeting with Machar.
"I urged all (South Sudanese) parties to urgently implement what they have committed to in the Accord," Mahamat tweeted shortly after his meeting with Machar.
The AU Commission Chairperson's call also came days after South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and the country's main opposition leader Machar agreed to postpone the formation of a transitional government of national unity by 100 days.
On Nov. 7, a communique issued after a meeting held at Ugandan city of Entebbe noted that the incomplete critical tasks related to the security arrangements and governance, including the formation of a revitalized transitional government of national unity necessitated the extension.
"The meeting agreed to extend the pre-transitional period for 100 days effective from Nov. 12 and to review progress after 50 days from that date and a report to be submitted to heads of state and parties," the communique read.
The world's youngest nation descended into civil war in late 2013 following a conflict between Kiir and former vice president Machar. The conflict eventually created one of the fastest-growing refugee crises in the world. A peace deal that was signed in August 2015 collapsed after renewed violence in the capital, Juba in July 2016.
Under the 2018 peace deal, Machar will take up one of the four vice presidency positions in the transitional government that's yet to be formed.
