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South Sudan readies for rebel chief’s return

– Rival troops inside city –

“It will allow the formation of the transitional government, the most significant step in the implementation of the peace agreement,” said Casie Copeland from the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, who warned that conflict will likely continue.

Several militia forces, driven by local agendas or revenge, do not obey either Machar’s or Kiir’s commands.

While inside Juba, tensions are high ahead of Machar’s return. A 1,370-strong armed rebel force finished arriving in the city earlier this month as part of an August 2015 peace deal, while government forces say they have pulled out all but 3,420 of their troops, according to the agreement.

Those troops are based in basic camps scattered in and around the capital, while other forces are not allowed within a 25 kilometre (15 mile) radius of Juba.

Opposition forces accuse the army of sending truckloads of soldiers back into the city, claims the army denies.

The United Nations has over 11,000 peacekeeping troops in South Sudan, many of them guarding the 185,000 civilians who have spent the past 28 months inside UN bases, too afraid to leave in case they are attacked.

Both the government and rebel sides have been accused of perpetrating ethnic massacres, recruiting and killing children and carrying out widespread rape, torture and forced displacement of populations to “cleanse” areas of their opponents.

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