Photos: South Sudan peace deal signing ceremony

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel leader Riek Machar met face-to-face on Friday for the first time since before the December 2013 crisis. The meeting concluded with the signing of a peace agreement.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel leader Riek Machar met face-to-face on Friday for the first time since before the December 2013 crisis. The meeting concluded with the signing of a peace agreement.

Among those to speak at the event were Salva Kiir and Riek Machar themselves, as well as the host of the peace summit and guarantor of the agreement, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Remarks and prayers were also offered by South Sudanese church leaders, including Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, who heads the National Platform for Peace and Reconciliation.

Photos courtesy of IGAD, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development