UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN peacekeeping chief on Tuesday urged the establishment of transitional security arrangements between the South Sudanese government and the opposition to push forward peace process after their new peace agreement in September.
"During the pre-transition period which ends in May 2019, ... the parties must come to a comprehensive agreement on the security sector and the establishment of transitional security arrangements," Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told the security council.
He said the move is necessary to build confidence among the parties and ensure the return and permanent presence of all the opposition in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, noting "a security agreement will be needed to be communicated within the ranks, and to reassure the commanders and combatants about their future."
Moreover, the UN under-chief stressed the need to appoint a new chair to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission to shepherd the pre-transition negotiations on the establishment of the security arrangements among other matters.
Five years of fighting tormented the world's youngest nation, which saw just two years of peace after its independence from Sudan.
In the failure of a 2015 peace deal, opposition leader Riek Machar fled his new post as vice president under a fragile power-sharing arrangement with President Salva Kiir after the fighting erupted again.
In September, the warring sides signed a new peace deal, which the two leaders vowed to keep.
Since the new agreement, "there has been a significant improvement in the general security situation of the country," said Lacroix.
He reported reopening of roads, free movement of civilians, government and opposition groups "in areas controlled by each other," and the returning of displaced populations in the past four months.
Despite the positive developments, he said sporadic clashes still took place, indicating that progress remained fragile. Besides fighting that caused casualties, he pointed to rape cases and inter-communal violence.
But overall, he said "the chance for peace in South Sudan has been created," with more progress having been made since the new peace deal than that in the previous years after the conflict erupted.
