Warring parties in South Sudan agree to ceasefire

The two warring parties in South Sudan reached Thursday evening a truce agreement which will take force on January 25 and last until February 7.The agreement is the fruit of two days of negotiations sponsored by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) - a grouping of eight Eastern African countries.It stipulates that all hostilities must halt and the warring parties must keep their forces at the positions they hold before the signing of the deal.It aims to create the necessary grounds for a negotiated political settlement of the dispute and starting an inclusive national reconciliation process.The fighting between the regular troops loyal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the rebel forces of former vice president Riek Machar followed a coup attempt in mid-December and led to the killing of thousands of people and the displacement of about half a million others.