South Sudan's rival parties kicked off talks in Juba this morning, in a bid to salvage the stalled peace deal, as time runs out for the parties to form a unity government.

On November 7, President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar agreed to give themselves another 100 days beyond the November 12 deadline to form a unity government.

President Salva Kiir, opposition leader Riek Machar and a handful of other groups signed the peace deal in September 2018. However the parties have failed to create a unified army and determine the number of states.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc for East Africa, told Radio Tamazuj this morning that a two-day meeting to "discuss the number of states and their boundaries" kicked off in the capital Juba this morning.

Abdullahi Busuri, Programme Manager of the Inter-governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), said: “There is a meeting on the number of states and their boundaries in Juba”.

According to the programme released by IGAD, the rivals would discuss the way forward on the number of states and their boundaries.

The bloc pointed out that the IGAD special envoy for South Sudan, Ismail Wais, Kenya special envoy to South Sudan, Kalonzo Musyoka, Sudan special envoy to South Sudan, Jamal El Sheikh, and South African envoy to South Sudan, David Mabuza, are part of the meeting.