Khartoum, Sudan, Jun 29, 2018 / 14:35 pm
More than four-and-a-half years after a devastating civil war broke out in the world's youngest country, a permanent ceasefire has been declared by South Sudan officials and rebel leaders.
But for the peace agreement to last, Catholic and world leaders stressed that the nation's leadership must be ready to rebuild society.
Bishop Barani Hiiboro of Tombura-Yambio, president of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishop's Conference, welcomed the ceasefire, according to Independent Catholic News, but added that "if it is to mean anything for the suffering people of South Sudan, then our leadership must face the task of rebuilding our broken pieces - social and political relationships, the fragile economy, and the infrastructure of our states, devastated by the conflict."
President Salva Kiir of South Sudan met last week with rebel leader and former Vice President Riek Machar for the first time in two years. The talks were held in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir helped broker the agreement, along with leaders of Ethiopia and Uganda.