South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar have agreed to return to re-start talks on integrating their rival forces into the army after escalating tensions threatened to derail the 2018 peace agreement.

Under the agreement that ended five years of civil war, both sides were expected to integrate fighters into the army. Intermittent clashes had resumed a few weeks ago after Kiir released a plan that Machar publicly refused to endorse.

South Sudan security forces surrounded his house after he made the statement, but eventually left the premises.

Machar's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) had suspended its participation in parts of peace deal implementation on 23 March, stressing that they had been attacked by government forces. The suspension was lifted after the agreement was signed Sunday night.

On Sunday evening, both Kiir and Machar recommitted to the peace deal, signing a text in Juba that states their agreement to abide by a previous ceasefire and that will deal with an accelerated integration of their forces.

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"We must implement what we say. The people of South Sudan expect that from us," said Martin Gama Abucha, an SPLM/A-IO representative, after the signing.

Opposition generals will receive their appointments in the unified command next week. The next step will be to integrate into the army the SPLM/A-IO soldiers currently in training centres.

A Sudanese mediator was on hand to help broker the signing.

Tut Gatluak Manime, representing Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) party, thanked Sudan "for standing with us to prevent another escalation into war and supporting the implementation of the peace deal".

Kiir and Machar regularly disagree on how to share power.

Although the details are not yet set, the pro-Kiir and the pro-Machar troops would be integrated into a unified army, which SPLM/A-IO indicated that it would be roughly 60 percent pro-Kiir troops, 40 percent pro-Machar troops.

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), a regional bloc involved with disputes between the two, welcomed the signing, calling it a "major milestone."

Originally published on RFI