South Sudan president says he will return to 'system of 10 states', paving the way for unity government and an end to country's civil war
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir attends a meeting on the cutting of the number of states from 32 to 10, at the State House in Juba, South Sudan on February 15, 2020.
Kiir and rebel chief Riek Machar are under increasing pressure to resolve their differences by February 22 and form a unity government as part of a peace agreement. "This decision may not have been the best option for our people but for the sake of peace and unity in the country, the Presidency sees it necessary," a government statement added.The number of states is contentious because the borders will determine the divisions of power in the country.
Kiir's had repeatedly refused to back down on the number of states but had come under intense international pressure to compromise. As well as the 10 states, there will also be three separate "administrative areas" of Ruweng, Pibor and Abyei –– the final is a special border region also claimed by neighbouring Sudan.Their latest agreement came when they signed a peace deal in September 2018, pausing the bloodshed that erupted in 2013 when the president accused his former deputy of plotting a coup.
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