JUBA, South Sudan — Peace negotiations in South Sudan, previously conducted in Kenya, will be revitalized following an agreement reached between President Salva Kiir and Kenyan President William Ruto on Wednesday. They have instructed the mediation team to reconvene and settle all remaining issues within a fortnight.

The talks had come to a halt after the withdrawal of Riek Machar’s party in July. Machar, a former adversary of Kiir, cited efforts by the mediators to alter the 2018 peace accord, which was instrumental in concluding a five-year civil conflict that resulted in over 400,000 fatalities.

Although the 2018 peace agreement remains largely unfulfilled, South Sudan has decided to delay the elections initially set for December 2023, pushing them to 2025 in order to adopt essential electoral frameworks detailed in the accord.

The ongoing Tumaini initiative peace discussions in Kenya began in May and seek to lay groundwork for incorporating non-signatory factions to ensure lasting peace in a nation beleaguered by civil strife and ethnic conflict. Nonetheless, there are apprehensions regarding a new security law that would empower the government to detain individuals without warrants, which has raised alarms among attendees.

Western diplomats and human rights organizations have condemned this legislation, expressing worries about its potential misuse given South Sudan’s precarious political and legal landscape.

Currently, South Sudan is grappling with a severe economic crisis, leading to nearly a year of unpaid salaries for civil servants. This financial turmoil has been exacerbated by disruptions in oil exports due to a damaged pipeline in the war-torn neighboring nation of Sudan.