Juba - South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar is set to return to
the country after more than two years in exile to take part in a
peace ceremony, his spokesman said Tuesday.
"We are for peace and that is why our leader Riek Machar is
travelling to Juba tomorrow on Wednesday ... for the celebration,"
Lam Paul Gabriel told dpa.
After five years of war, the rebels and the government signed a peace
agreement in September after a lengthy negotiation process. However,
questions remained over whether Machar, a former vice president of
the country, would actually risk returning from self-imposed exile in
South Africa.
The peace deal allows for the creation of a transitional government,
with Machar reinstated as vice president, but Machar's party has
expressed reservations about some points of the deal.
Also on Tuesday, a South Sudan army spokesman blamed Machar's rebels
for an overnight ambush on a minibus in which five civilians were
killed.
"We truly blame the rebels because their acts are anti-peace ...
while the country is preparing for a celebration of peace," Lul Ruai
Koang said.
South Sudan - the world's newest country - descended into civil war
in 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused Machar, then his deputy,
of plotting a coup.
Tens of thousands have been killed in the war, and about 4 million
South Sudanese people have fled the fighting. Rights groups have
reported gross human rights violations on both sides.
Previous agreements have collapsed after the warring parties failed
to respect them, and numerous ceasefires have been broken.