S. Sudan rebel to launch awareness drive on peace deal

South Sudan rebel group said Thursday it will launch a drive to sensitize South Sudanese living in East Africa on the recently signed peace deal between their leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir.

Sudan People Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) Deputy Chief Negotiator Dhieu Mathok told journalists in Nairobi that they will tour Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan.

"We have embarked on a dissemination and awareness campaign of the terms of the agreement in order to show our commitment to the peace agreement," Mathok said.

The rebel group signed the agreement on Aug. 17 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, while President Kiir signed the agreement in Juba on Wednesday to end the conflict that has been raging in the world's youngest nation for some 20 months.

Kiir said he was signing the agreement because he wants peace for his country and requested neighbouring nations to continue supporting his country to safeguard peace.

Before signing the agreement, the South sudanese government submitted its reservations of the agreement in writing to the visiting Heads of State. President Kiir said that the document will also be officially submitted to the the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development so that it goes on record.

Speaking in Nairobi, Mathok stated that they are briefing overseas based South Sudanese, so that they are in the same page regarding the peace process and so that they can go back to their country as soon as peace resumes.

Mathok, whose leader Machar was sacked by President Kiir in 2013, triggering a fierce fighting in the world's youngest nation, said that his side did not get all they wanted from the agreement but they will not violate the accord.

The deputy chief negotiator said that he is optimistic that a permanent ceasefire will hold in South Sudan in the next 72 hours as stipulated in peace agreement.

"Our desire and that of South Sudanese people is that peace and stability returns to the country," he said.

The deal has been welcomed by international community, saying it was a sign of commitment to stop the war and will allow South Sudan to resume its search for prosperity.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was in Juba to witness the signing ceremony, promised that Kenya will continue supporting South Sudan like it has been doing in the past.

He asked South Sudanese leaders not to resort to the battlefield to resolve their conflict and should instead opt for peace so that they can negotiate their misunderstandings.

"The people of South Sudan have been suffering for long due to conflict and in every conflict there are wounds, but you should be guided not by finger pointing but by the spirit of reconciliation," he added.