In spite of reassurances by the government of South Sudan that the country is on the path to implementing a 2018 peace deal, there have been fears of a relapse.

Last September, warring parties in the country signed a landmark deal after a 2015 cease-fire was violated 24 hours after it was signed.

However, an eight-nation African bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), said that while the latest deal is holding on there have been reports of recurring violations.

South Sudan slid into civil war in December 2013, in a falling out between President Salva Kiir and his then deputy-turned-rebel-leader Riek Machar.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 under mediation by IGAD, was short-lived as Machar fled the capital Juba and entered the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) fearing for his life, sparking renewed fighting across the nascent nation.

“IGAD is dismayed at the reports of recurring violations of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access,” IGAD’s Special Envoy to South Sudan Ambassador Ismail Weis said in a statement last week.

“The people of South Sudan are tired of war and violence. The rule of fear must end," he added, calling on all parties to respect the cease-fire.

Anadolu Agency