– Risk of famine –
Kiir has insisted he wanted peace, telling crowds in Juba on Sunday that “we have ordered our forces not to lift a foot from where they are to attack rebels”.
The two sides had agreed to a ceasefire in January, but that deal quickly fell apart and unleashed a new round of fierce fighting.
Observers have said both sides will face challenges in implementing a truce, with the rebels made up of a loose coalition of army defectors and ethnic rebels.
Each side accuses the other of using mercenaries and rebel forces from neighbouring Sudan, while on the government side – backed by Ugandan troops – the command structure under Kiir is also seen as weak.
The war in the world’s youngest nation has claimed thousands – and possibly tens of thousands – of lives, with more than 1.2 million people forced to flee their homes. READ: UN chief lands in war-torn South Sudan to push for peace.
The conflict, which started as a personal rivalry between Kiir and Machar, has seen the army and communities divide along ethnic lines, pitting members of Kiir’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer.
UN rights chief Navi Pillay, a former head of the UN genocide court for Rwanda, has said she recognised “many of the precursors of genocide” listed in a UN report on atrocities that was released last week.
The United Nations food agency has warned there is only a “small window of opportunity” to avert famine, and appealed for relief agencies – who have been subjected to armed attacks and looting – to be allowed unfettered access.
The war erupted on December 15 with Kiir accusing Machar of attempting a coup. Machar then fled to the bush to launch a rebellion, insisting that the president had attempted to carry out a bloody purge of his rivals.
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