South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar on Tuesday left Addis Ababa for South Africa to meet with South African President Jacob Zuma, a source close to Machar's camp has said.
"Machar left for South Africa as per an official invitation extended to him by South African President Jacob Zuma," the source, who asked to remain anonymous, told Anadolu Agency.
"Machar is expected to brief President Zuma and his African National Congress (ANC) leaders on the current situation in South Sudan," the source said.
The ANC and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) have both been actively involved in mediating peace efforts between South Sudan's warring rivals.
South Sudan slid into chaos late last year when President Salva Kiir accused a group of army leaders allied to Machar, his sacked vice president, of attempting to overthrow his regime.
Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese have since been displaced in the subsequent fighting, while large swathes of the population continue to face a serious humanitarian crisis as a result of the violence.
In May, the warring rivals signed a peace deal brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The move followed an earlier cessation-of-hostilities agreement inked in January.
Neither deal, however, has succeeded in curtailing hostilities.
By Abdo Abdulkerim
englishnews@aa.com.tr
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