JUBA, South Sudan -- South Sudan opened a new chapter in its emergence from civil war Saturday as rival leaders formed a coalition government.
A day after President Salva Kiir dissolved the previous government, opposition leader Riek Machar was sworn in as his deputy, an arrangement that twice collapsed during the conflict that killed nearly 400,000 people.
Kiir declared "the official end of the war, and we can now proclaim a new dawn." Peace is "never to be shaken ever again," the president said, adding that he had forgiven Machar and asking for Machar's forgiveness, to applause. He called on their respective Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups to do the same.
The world's youngest nation slid into civil war in 2013, two years after winning a long-fought independence from Sudan, as supporters of Kiir and Machar clashed. Numerous attempts at peace failed, including a deal that saw Machar return as vice president in 2016 -- only to flee the country on foot months later amid fresh gunfire.
Intense international pressure followed the most recent peace deal in 2018. Pope Francis kissed the feet of Kiir and Machar last year to coax them into putting their differences aside. Saturday's ceremony began with a presentation of a photo of that event as a reminder.
Kiir and Machar in the past year pushed back two deadlines to take the step of forming the coalition government. But with less than a week before the latest deadline Saturday, each made a key concession.
Kiir announced a "painful" decision on the politically sensitive issue of the number of states, and Machar agreed to have Kiir take responsibility for his security. On Thursday, they announced they had agreed to form a government meant to lead to elections in three years' time -- the first vote since independence.
"Finally, peace is at our doorstep," a reporter with the U.N.-backed Radio Miraya declared from Bor in long-suffering Jonglei state. In Yambio, youths with flags were reported in the streets. "I rejoice with the South Sudanese, especially the displaced, hungry and grieving who waited so long," the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, tweeted.
Hugs and applause followed Machar's swearing-in. He vowed to the South Sudanese to work together "to end your suffering."
And both he and Kiir thanked the pope for his gesture. "We are proud to report to him that we have also reconciled," Kiir said. "We were greatly humbled and challenged" by him, Machar said.
Even as citizens breathed a cautious sigh of relief, aid groups, analysts and diplomats warned of major challenges ahead. In a likely sign of caution, no heads of state aside from Sudan's leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, attended the swearing-in.
"While much work remains to be done, this is an important milestone in the path to peace," the U.S. Embassy said in a message of congratulations.
Tens of thousands of rival forces still must be knitted together into a single army, a process that the U.N. and others have called behind schedule and poorly provisioned.
And observers have stressed that this new government must be inclusive in a country where fighting has often occurred along ethnic lines and where several armed groups operate. Not all have signed on to the peace deal.
Kiir and Machar have said outstanding issues will be negotiated under the new government.
The humanitarian community, which has seen more than 100 workers killed since the civil war began, hopes the new government will lead to far easier delivery of food and other badly needed support. Roughly half of South Sudan's 12 million people remain hungry. Some 40,000 are in famine conditions, a new report said Thursday, and now a major locust outbreak in East Africa has arrived.
More than 2 million people fled South Sudan during the civil war, and Kiir has urged them to come home.
Information for this article was contributed by Cara Anna of The Associated Press.
A Section on 02/23/2020