South Sudan rebel leader Machar arrives in capital Juba

South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar has arrived in the capital Juba on his first visit since civil war broke out in the country in December 2013 when the president accused him of attempting to stage a coup.

Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM/A-IO) spokesman Goy Joyuul Yol told Anadolu Agency earlier in a phone interview Tuesday that Machar left Ethiopia's southwestern city of Gambella for Juba at 2.50 p.m. (1150GMT) aboard a UN plane. He arrived at the Juba International Airport shortly thereafter.

As Machar stepped off the plane, many government officials and dignitaries lined up to shake the former rebel's hand.

There were chaotic scenes at the airport and some streets of the capital where the rebel leader's supporters were anxious to welcome the beginning of a new era.

South Sudanese Information Minister Michael Makuei said Machar's return was a milestone in the implementation of the peace agreement signed last year between Machar and South Sudan President Salva Kiir.

“His return to Juba is a key step for the formation of a unity government agreed under the peace accord to end a brutal war which has killed our people over nearly two and a half years," Makuei told Anadolu Agency moments before Machar arrived.

Machar's return to Juba comes as tensions from the civil war, which is estimated to have killed more than tens of thousands of people, displaced another 2.4 million from their homes.

Under the last August deal to end two years of war, he is due to be sworn in as first vice-president Tuesday, marking the beginning of a 30-month transitional period leading to elections in 2018.

International pressure from Western countries, including the United States, Norway and the U.K. apart from UN sanctions forced the two men to sign an initial peace deal in August 2015 and agreed to share ministerial positions in January this year. Machar would be given his old job as deputy and will nominate 10 ministers to the Transitional Government of National Unity headed by President Salva Kiir.

- Public Reactions

South Sudan's People Liberal Party Leader Peter Mayen Majongdit told Anadolu Agency Machar's return to Juba will pave a way for stability in the country, bringing the two warring factions of SPLM party, the SPLM-in Opposition, and SPLM-in Government, together in a unity government seen as crucial to bring peace in the country,

“It will also give a chance to political dialogue for the outstanding issues that were not addressed by regional and international brokered peace accord in Addis Ababa [in Ethiopia] between the government and the rebels," Majongdit said.

Without the silence of the guns in other parts of the country like Western Equatoria, Bhar El Ghazal region and some part of Upper Nile where government forces and militias allied to Riek Machar are battling each other, Machar's arrival will be useless, leader of the Democratic Change Party, the main opposition political in the country, Dr. Lam Akol said.

“Yes, Machar's arrival is important for the implementation of the peace agreement. But we are behind the schedules for six months," Akol said.

“President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar must be serious in serving people's interest then their political ambitions," he added.

Angelina Tut, a supporter of Machar among the crowds at Juba International Airport that were welcoming rebel leader, said: “As a mother, I am happy because our husbands and children will not die anymore in the war of individual interests.

“I urge all South Sudanese to bury their differences and work for the common good of our nation. We are tired of wars, please let give peace a chance."

After gaining independence from Sudan in July 2011 following more than 50 years of civil war, the world's youngest nation descended into war two years later, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that have pitted the country along ethnic lines.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Addis Getachew Tadesse contributed to this report from Ethiopia