16 August 2015 - Brandishing placards and chanting slogans, internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the UN base in Bentiu, Unity State, today peacefully protested any delay in signing a peace deal.

The IDPs called on President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar to sign a peace accord in Addis Ababa by 17 August, a deadline set by the Inter-governmental Authority (IGAD) on Development.

Speaking during the demonstration, community elder Samuel Reath Koch said the South Sudanese people were weary of war and needed peace.

“We are suffering in IDP camps and in rural areas, where we are living under deplorable conditions,” Mr. Koch said. “We are showing the world that we need to go home.”

The community elder called on IGAD, the UN and international community at large to pressure the warring parties to sign thepeace deal as scheduled.

The UN base in Bentiu is hosting about 100, 000 people seeking protection from UN peacekeepers.