Kudos to Kiir and Riek for agreeing to share power

The signing of a power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar comes at the right time.

Its my hope that the deal will see an end to the two-year civil war in South Sudan.

Dr Machar has returned to Juba for the first time since a civil war erupted more than two years ago, and after a row last week over the weapons he was to bring home with him.

Thousands of Sudanese have been killed and more than three million driven out of their homes into into UN peacekeeping camps.

The economy is in ruins. More than five million people need aid.

Tension is high, and the days ahead will be critical. There are expectations that Machar's arrival means the problems will be swiftly solved.

Diplomats note gloomily that while his return is the "best chance yet", the deal imposed under intense international pressure only returns the country to the status quo that existed before his July 2013 sacking as vice president, which precipitated the war.

The agreement has been repeatedly broken with months of fighting since it was signed; leaving its key power-sharing formula in ruins after Mr Kiir nearly tripled the number of regional states.

Indeed, agreeing to share power is not a sign of weakness or defeat but a win-win mediation.