South Sudan – 29 July 2015

Keeping faith with the IGAD peace process
After struggling to secure a deal to end South Sudan’s civil war in the face of deep regional divisions and truculence on the part of the parties, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development has announced a revised, expanded mediation – IGAD.
For more than 18 months, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body mediating peace negotiations to end South Sudan’s civil war, has struggled to secure a deal in the face of deep regional divisions and the parties’ truculence. To overcome these challenges, it announced a revised, expanded mediation – “IGAD-Plus” – including the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), China, the US, UK, European Union (EU), Norway and the IGAD Partners Forum (IPF).
Daily Mavericks

Obama pushes East African leaders for end to South Sudan conflict
The US President has appealed to East African regional leaders to strive to end the South Sudan conflict. He also praised host country Ethiopia’s fight against militants in Somalia, but challenged it over democracy.
US President Barack Obama on Monday made an appeal to African leaders for their help in bringing peace to South Sudan.
“The possibilities of renewed conflict in a region that has been torn by conflict for so long, and has resulted in so many deaths, is something that requires urgent attention from all of us,” said Obama. “We don’t have a lot of time to wait.”
DW