South Sudan: President urges end to violence between rival factions of Vice President's party

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Tuesday called for an immediate end to violence after deadly fighting last weekend between rival internal factions in the party of South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar.

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Deadly clashes erupted on Saturday in Upper Nile between rival factions of the SPLA-IO, the armed wing of Riek Machar's SPLM-IO party, days after the disputed announcement of his ouster as chairman of the two entities. Riek Machar's allies in the party then denounced a

Both sides have blamed each other for the fighting, which left at least 32 dead.

After a meeting Tuesday with Riek Machar and other members of his cabinet, the president's office called in a statement for

between the two camps. On Monday, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), which brings together seven East African countries, called on Riek Machar's movement to

which ended the civil war in 2018.

Igad played a key role in the peace talks in South Sudan and in shaping a ceasefire and power-sharing agreement signed in 2018 between rivals Salva Kiir and Riek Machar. But these internal rivalries are likely to undermine the fragile peace process, intended to end a long civil war that left 400,000 dead. President Kiir also urged the government to push forward the formation of a unified command of the armed forces, a key component of the peace agreement which Riek Machar says is being contested by his enemies.