Government negotiation team attends a session in Addis Ababa - Feb 2014.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development says the phase two of the South Sudan Peace dialogue resumed in Addis Ababa yesterday.

The talks are now focusing on the political dialogue for national reconciliation and healing in South Sudan.

The government and the SPLM-in Opposition negotiation teams arrived in Addis Ababa over the weekend.

A statement from IGAD says in the talks over the last 3 weeks, IGAD mediators were involved in ‘a series of consultations with President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar former Vice President and leader of the SPLM/A- in Opposition, in an effort to fast-track the negotiation process and avert further escalation of the conflict’.

The Special Envoys also conducted shuttle missions to regional capitals, the African Union, and the UN to mobilize support for the mediation process and expedition of the deployment of the regional Protection Force, said the statement.

IGAD said the talks will also emphasize on the need to de-escalate the violence ongoing in parts of the country.