Deputy Machar: Riek Machar

deputy machar: Machar fled South Sudan after new fighting erupted in the capital, Juba, in July 2016, ending a brief attempt at peace in which Machar had returned to his role as Kiir's deputy, according to CTV. Machar, who later was put under house arrest in South Africa, hasn't met with Kiir since then. An opposition statement on Wednesday welcomed the invitation by Ethiopia's prime minister for Riek Machar to meet with President Salva Kiir on June 20 and called it a prudent and timely decision. While South Sudan's government hasn't said whether the president will attend next week's proposed meeting, spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny called the invitation significant and told The Associated Press that anything that brings peace in South Sudan is wanted. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development last month called for a meeting of Kiir and Machar ahead of an African Union summit on July 1 in Mauritania, saying it would inform a final decision on Machar's participation in the South Sudan peace process. The meeting would be mediated by the East African regional bloc that has led several rounds of failed peace talks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.