South Sudan's main opposition leader is requesting a six-month delay before the formation of the national unity government he is supposed to become vice-president of, under the peace agreement signed in September 2018 in Khartoum. The deadline for government formation was set for May 12.

He was expected in Juba, but he returned to Khartoum instead. Riek Machar ultimately stopped in Sudan's capital on Wednesday, leaving the Vatican after his spiritual retreat with his rival Salva Kiir. Once again, he has requested a delay before taking his position as vice-president of the national unity government.

A request for six additional months that Riek Machar had already made repeatedly in recent days, and that his spokesperson within the Transitional Committee confirmed Thursday morning. Riek Machar, he said, "will not come to Juba without a security agreement".

For Riek Machar, the conditions are not in place for his return. And many sensitive issues have not yet been the subject of a definitive agreement: the unification of rival factions into a single army, the delimitation of tribal boundaries which is not yet complete, and security control of the capital which would allow the return of displaced persons to their homes.

The international sponsors of the peace agreement expected this delay. The Committee for Monitoring and Evaluation of the peace agreement acknowledged last week that progress was "very insufficient".