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Official: South Sudan president may sign peace deal with his political rival

Associated Press
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FILE - In this Monday, April 26, 2010 file photo, then Vice President Riek Machar, left, and President of South Sudan Salva Kiir, centre, arrive for a press conference in Juba, South Sudan. A South Sudan spokesman said Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015 that President Salva Kiir may sign a peace deal with rebels on Wednesday, more than a week after refusing to do so, but added that Kiir will first express "reservations" about the agreement with rebel leader Riek Machar at a summit with regional leaders in the capital, Juba.(AP Photo/Pete Muller, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 file photo, South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar, 2nd left, looks across after shaking hands with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, center-right wearing a black hat, after lengthy peace negotiations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A South Sudan spokesman said Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015 that President Salva Kiir may sign a peace deal with rebels on Wednesday, more than a week after refusing to do so, but added that Kiir will first express "reservations" about the agreement with rebel leader Riek Machar at a summit with regional leaders in the capital, Juba. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File) (The Associated Press)

A South Sudan spokesman says President Salva Kiir may sign a peace deal with rebels on Wednesday, more than a week after refusing to do so.

Ateny Wek Ateny said Tuesday that Kiir will first express "reservations" about the agreement with rebel leader Riek Machar at a summit with regional leaders in the capital, Juba.

Kiir is unhappy about the agreement's demands that Juba be demilitarized, the rebels will appoint two state governors, and a foreigner will head a monitoring commission, he said.

Last Monday Machar signed the deal, designed by the regional bloc known as IGAD and backed by the African Union, western nations and China. Kiir said he needed to consult before he could sign the agreement. South Sudan has been at war since December 2013.