Sudan's transitional government and several rebel groups on Saturday inked a peace deal aimed at ending decades of war.
Ululations and cheers rang out as representatives from the government and opposition groups signed the deal at a ceremony in the South Sudanese capital Juba, formalizing a peace deal made in August.
Deputy Chairman of the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Daglo — best known by his nickname "Hemeti" — signed the agreement on behalf of the transitional government.
A representative of the opposition coalition Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) and others from the groups making up the coalition, also signed the deal.
The coalition comprises opposition groups from the western Darfur region, as well as the southern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
"Today we have reached a peace agreement. We are happy. We have finished the mission," Tut Gatluak Manime, head of the South Sudanese mediating team said before the signing took place.
Guarantors of the deal from Chad, Qatar, Egypt, the African Union, European Union and United Nations also put their names to the Sudanese peace accord.
The signing ceremony was attended by South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit. The head of Sudan's Sovereign Council, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok also attended the ceremony.
The peace agreement covers a number of tricky issues, from land ownership, reparations and compensation, to wealth and power-sharing and the return of refugees and internally displaced people.
Under the peace deal, the insurgents will be integrated into Sudan’s army and take roles in the transitional government.
However, two major rebel groups – the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) faction led by Abdel Wahid Mohamed al-Nur and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdul-Aziz al-Hilu did not sign.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in the Kordofan and Blue Nile regions broke out in 2011, and conflict in Darfur began in 2003.