ADDIS ABABA (AFP) -- South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar late Sunday signed a new agreement to end more than 13 months of fighting in a civil war that has left tens of thousands dead.

“Complete cessation of hostilities in South Sudan is expected as of this morning (Monday),” Seyoum Mesfin, a negotiator from the regional IGAD bloc, told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa where the ceasefire deal was signed.

The two leaders have signed -- and then broken -- at least six previous ceasefire agreements since fighting began in December 2013.

The eight-member East African bloc IGAD, which has in the past threatened sanctions over violations but never taken action, says this time it will take any ceasefire violations to the U.N. Security Council and the African Union‘s Peace and Security Council and ask for “tough measures” against them, Mesfin said.

After four days of difficult negotiations in the Ethiopian capital, Kiir and Machar have however failed to reach agreement on the conflict settlement proposed by IGAD which provides for a power-sharing arrangement between the two men.

Shiite militia sets deadline to unravel Yemen crisis

SANAA (AFP) -- A Shiite militia on Sunday set a three-day deadline for political parties to resolve the power vacuum in Yemen since the president and prime minister offered to resign last month.

The Huthis and their allies urged parties “to reach a solution and fill the vacuum” within three days or “the revolutionary leadership” would “take care of the situation of the state.”

No measures were specified.

The deadline was set in a statement issued at the end of a three-day meeting in a Sanaa sports hall attended by the party of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh but boycotted by Yemen‘s other major political movements.

The announcement was loudly applauded by thousands who took part in the forum, including tribal chiefs and officers in military uniform.

The militia, which overran Sanaa in September, seized the presidential palace and key government buildings on Jan. 20, plunging the country deeper into crisis and prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his premier to tender their resignations.

Opponents have staged demonstrations against the Huthis in several cities under the slogan: “Revolt until the overthrow of the coup” forces.

U.N. envoy Jamel Benomar has said that Hadi and his cabinet are effectively under house arrest, warning that violence could erupt at any time.

Blast hits pilgrim bus in Damascus, killing seven

BEIRUT (AFP) -- At least seven people were killed when a blast ripped through a bus carrying Lebanese Shiite pilgrims in the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said another 20 people were wounded in the explosion near the Souq al-Hamadiyeh neighborhood of the city.

Syrian state media, which reported a toll of six dead and 19 wounded, said the blast was caused by an explosive device rather than a suicide bomber.

State news agency SANA said officials had found and defused a second bomb that had been placed inside the bus before it detonated.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the bus had a Lebanese license plate and was carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims visiting religious sites in Damascus.

Lebanese media reported that Lebanese nationals were among the dead and wounded, but there was no immediate official confirmation.

In Beirut, an official with the Lebanese group that organized the trip said all the passengers on the bus were Lebanese, but could not confirm a toll.

“They set out from Beirut at 5:30 a.m. this morning,” Fadi Khaireddin told AFP, adding that the bus had space for 52 pilgrims, as well as the driver and trip administrator.

“The bus is usually full,” he added, though he could not confirm how many people were on the trip this weekend.

He said the bus had made its first stop at the Sayyida Roqaya shrine and was heading to the revered Sayyida Zeinab shrine in southeast Damascus when the attack occurred.

rd-sah/hkb


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com