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South Sudan’s warring leaders to sign compromise deal

FILE - In this Monday, April 26, 2010 file photo, then Vice President Riek Machar, left, and President of South Sudan Salva Kiir, centre, arrive for a press conference in Juba, South Sudan. Mediators say President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and rebel leader Riek Machar are expected to sign a peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015, with the U.S. urging the warring factions to reach a peace agreement by that date or face sanctions. (AP Photo/Pete Muller, File) FILE - In this Monday, April 26, 2010 file photo, then Vice President Riek Machar, left, and President of South Sudan Salva Kiir, centre, arrive for a press conference in Juba, South Sudan. Mediators say President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and rebel leader Riek Machar are expected to sign a peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015, with the U.S. urging the warring factions to reach a peace agreement by that date or face sanctions. (AP Photo/Pete Muller, File)

By Associated Press August 17, 2015 1 min read

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and his political rival are expected to sign a peace agreement in Ethiopia on Monday, say mediators.

Representatives of Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have been negotiating in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa since Aug. 6. The U.S. had urged the warring factions to reach a peace agreement by Aug. 17 or face sanctions.

Kiir and Machar will sign what he called a “compromise document” on Monday, said Haile Michael, a spokesman for a regional bloc mediating the talks.

Several previous attempts to reach a negotiated settlement have failed. At stake were issues such as how to share power and the composition of a transitional government of national unity.

Many parts of South Sudan have experienced war since December 2013.