A young girl steps back as hospital staff carry past the body of a young boy who was killed by a gunshot the day before, at the teaching hospital in Malakal, Upper Nile State, in South Sudan Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. The government said Monday that it had regained control of Malakal, the capital of the oil-producing Upper Nile state, though the U.N. said its base there took fire, wounding nearly three dozen people and damaging the hospital. (AP Photo/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin)
January 23, 2014 - 9:52 AM
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - South Sudan's government and rebels fighting against it have signed a cessation of hostilities agreement that should at the least put a pause to five weeks of warfare.
Negotiators for the two sides have been meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for weeks. Thursday's signing was the first real progress made.
The agreement should put an end to violence that has claimed thousands of lives and uprooted a half million people since fighting began Dec. 15 between the government and supporters of former Vice-President Riek Machar.
A technical team has been set up to follow the implementation of the agreement.
Jose Barahona, the country director for Oxfam, said the agreement gives the world's newest nation "a second chance."
News from © The Associated Press, 2014