KHARTOUM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday reiterated his country's commitment to support peace and stability in South Sudan and follow through the implementation of a peace deal signed by South Sudan's rivals.
South Sudan's conflicting parties on Sunday signed a final deal in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on power-sharing and security arrangements.
"We will continue setting up plans, programs and timetables to implement what has been agreed on in Khartoum and follow it up step by step." said al-Bashir at the signing ceremony of the deal.
He vowed that the agreement would not be just ink on papers, saying "before it was signed on papers, it was signed in the hearts and became a commitment."
For his part, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit vowed to implement the signed agreement to the letter and spirit.
"I call on all of us, as the leaders of South Sudan, that the agreement we have just signed today must mark the end of conflict and war in our country," said Mayardit at the ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony, South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar said peace is the only option, noting that the regional presence constituted a guarantor for the implementation of the signed deal.
"We want to give meaning to this day. It is a great day for South Sudan, for the region and for peace all over the world," said Machar.
On July 25, the South Sudanese conflicting parties signed an initial deal of power-sharing, which stipulates that Kiir will continue his post during the transitional period, while Machar will be the first vice president among the four vice presidents from different political parties.
Under the agreement, the transitional cabinet would be composed of 35 ministers, including 20 ministers from the government, and nine from Machar-led Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).
The deal further stipulates a transitional national legislative body would be composed of 550 members, with 332 from the government, and 128 from the SPLM-IO.
South Sudan has been witnessing a civil war since December 2013, which has left about 10,000 dead and millions of others displaced.
