"We have accomplished our mission".

The Sudanese government and rebel leaders gathered in Juba on Saturday (October 3) to the sound of drums and the rhythm of traditional dances, to sign a historic peace agreement, which is to end 17 years of deadly war.

Representatives of the Sudanese transitional government and rebel movement, as well as diplomats from Chad, Qatari, Egypt, the African Union and the United Nations, participated in the ceremony in Juba, capital of neighboring South Sudan.

"Today we have concluded a peace agreement. We are happy. We have accomplished our mission," said South Sudanese Tutkew Gatluak, one of the mediators, shortly before the signing.

The authorities in Khartoum, a hybrid power of military and civilians in place after a popular revolt that ended 30 years of Omar al-Bashir's dictatorship in April 2019, have made peace with the rebels their priority.

>> Read also: In Sudan, the trial of the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir opens

Under the Bashir regime, rebels from ethnic minorities considered themselves marginalized in a country facing a serious economic crisis, having notably lost three quarters of its oil reserves since the independence of South Sudan.

The agreement is made up of eight protocols: land ownership, transitional justice, reparations and compensation, development of the nomadic and pastoral sector, sharing of wealth, sharing of power and return of refugees and displaced persons.

It also stipulates the eventual dismantling of armed groups and the integration of combatants into the army, which must be representative of all components of society.

With AFP

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