Ban, UNSC welcome ceasefire agreement between South Sudanese government, rebels

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Security Council members late Thursday welcomed the ceasefire agreement signed earlier in the day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the Government of South Sudan and the rebels, which put an end to five weeks of turmoil in the newly independent country. The deal is the first sign of relief since the political crisis erupted in the country on December 15th when government soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir, who belongs to the Dinka tribe, clashed with those loyal to his rival former Vice-President Riek Machar, who belongs to the rival tribe Nuer, accusing the latter of staging an attempted coup because he was dismissed last July. The UN press office said in a statement that Ban congratulated the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on its successful mediation of this deal, called on the parties to implement it immediately, and underscored the necessity to immediately resume the national political dialogue to reach a comprehensive and inclusive peace deal with the participation of all South Sudanese representatives. One contentious point remained unresolved. While Machar demands that eleven of his supporters be released from prison, Kiir wants them to face trial, accusing them of helping Machar in his failed coup d'etat. Ban vowed that the United Nations will stand with the people of South Sudan and will "continue to do everything within its means to protect civilians at risk and provide the necessary humanitarian assistance." Ban also reiterated his call for all parties to ensure freedom of movement of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), humanitarian workers and human rights monitors, and welcomed the South Sudanese Government's reassurances of its "full support" to the Mission and commitment to honour its Status of Forces Agreement. The Security Council also welcomed the ceasefire agreement, reiterated the importance of insuring its sustainability and to build on it towards comprehensive reconciliation and dialogue process which deals with the root causes of the conflict and long term solutions. In an informal statement to the press, Council President Jordanian Deputy Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Mahmoud Hmoud said the Council condemned the violent attacks on the civilians and vulnerable groups and called for accountability to those who committed such crimes. In an indirect reference to Kiir's reported criticism of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and accusations for its siding with the rebels, the Council "condemned the attacks and accusations mounted against the Mission," called on all parties to stop such acts and to cooperate with its personnel in the fulfillment of its mandate. Hmoud spoke to reporters following a Council closed-door meeting during which the members heard a briefing via video-link from Juba, South Sudan's capital, by Hilde Johnson, the Head of UNMISS, and Ivan Simonovic, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, who just returned from an official visit to the country. In a related matter, UNMISS confirmed on Thursday that its peacekeepers completed weapons searches in their eight main bases, where some 76,000 civilians continue to seek refuge. The weapons searches come just days after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced alarm at the attempt last Sunday by the country's military to forcibly enter into the UNMISS compound in Bor, Jonglei state. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 468,000 people are estimated to have been displaced within South Sudan since the crisis erupted on December 15th. An additional 83,900 have crossed into neighbouring countries, over half to Uganda. South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011.