President Salva Kiir of South Sudan has dissolved parliament, a long-awaited move that will enable lawmakers from previously feuding parties to be appointed.
The decision was made in accordance with a peace agreement reached to end a civil war that began in 2013.
On Saturday, the president dissolved parliament, and a new body will be created in “a matter of time, not too long,” according to the president.
Parliament must be extended from 400 to 550 members, according to the agreement that ended the civil war, and members from both parties to the peace agreement must be included.
After decades of civil war, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. After Kiir, a Dinka ethnic leader, fired vice president Riek Machar, a Nuer, violence erupted in late 2013.
The two men have signed several agreements to bring an end to a conflict that is estimated to have killed over 400,000 civilians.
According to Reuters, they repeatedly pushed back deadlines to form a government of national unity, but in 2020 finally did so.
