The president told the thousands gathered for the party in Juba that he would release Machar's former spokesman and Machar's former security advisor. Regional leaders including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and newly elected Ethiopian President Sahle Work Zewd attended the celebrations. Machar told the jubilant crowd that the SPLM-IO (Sudan People's Liberation Movement In Opposition) is serious about the Sept. 12 peace deal signed in Khartoum last month and his presence in Juba is a sign that he wants true peace. "We as the church people are praying for peace and we are praying for our leaders, especially the president, to bring peace to South Sudan," Nyari told South Sudan in Focus. Remember, they fought together in the bush and brought this nation [together] and it should not be them to break it apart," Abe told South Sudan in Focus.

Source: Ethiopian News October 31, 2018 19:41 UTC