Finding peace for South Sudan tops agenda at regional summit

World Today

Finding peace for South Sudan tops agenda at IGAD Summit

In the Horn of Africa, heads-of-state will meet in Ethiopia for a summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. The eight-month-old war in South Sudan is at the top of the agenda, especially since China has upped the pressure on all parties to end the hostilities. CCTV America’s Girum Chala reports from Addis Ababa.

The talks that have been dragging on for months have stalled yet again. Come Sunday, regional leaders will be trooping to Addis Ababa for yet another attempt at putting the talks back on track. The decision by the rebels to accept Ugandan troops in South Sudan appears to have added impetus to the peace efforts.

At the moment the international community, including China, is assisting the parties in striking a deal. The IGAD heads of state are expected to hold a summit here in Addis on Sunday, though a similar attempt last week flopped. No reasons were given for its failure.

While fighting is escalating back in South Sudan, all eyes are on the Addis IGAD Heads of State summit, hoping they will yield some positive results this time round.