South Sudan President Salva Kiir meets Sudan's Deputy Sudanese President Malik Agar in Juba. | Photo: Office of the President/Facebook

The newly-appointed Deputy President of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council Malik Agar met President Salva Kiir in Juba on Monday to discuss the ongoing conflict in his country.

General Agar, a member of the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council, was appointed in a decree on Friday – replacing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Malik Agar Eyre is the current chairman of SPLM-North (Agar faction).

General al-Burhan reportedly dispatched him to Juba to discuss bilateral ties with President Kiir and ways to bring the conflict in Sudan to an end.

“He reaffirmed support to President Kiir’s efforts in persuading the warring parties to settle their disputes through dialogue, noting that Juba remains an ideal city for Sudanese peace talks,” reads a press release from the Office of the President.

In his remarks to the media, General Agar accepted his appointment as Vice President.

“I accepted the assignment to assume the position of Vice President of the Sovereign Council, not as a substitute for anyone, and not as siding with any party other than Sudan and the interest of its citizens first and foremost.”

He further called for an end to the raging conflict in Sudan, describing it as a senseless war, according to President Kiir’s office.

Presidential Advisor on National Security Affairs Tut Gatluak Manime said President Kiir is “taking all necessary steps to ensure that the conflict in Sudan comes to a comprehensive end.”

Agar jets to Juba a week after the visit of the Special Envoy of General Dagalo to South Sudan’s capital, and his subsequent press statement, reportedly raised brows in Khartoum.