Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta in South Sudan to witness signing of peace deal

President Uhuru Kenyatta Wednesday left for Juba, South Sudan to witness the signing of a peace deal and power-sharing accord by President Salva Kiir to end a 20-month civil war.

Kiir agreed to sign the deal, a spokesman said. Presidents of Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia's Prime Minister will converge in Juba for a one-day summit before Kiir signs the peace agreement, officials said.

President Uhuru flew out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi for Juba at about 8.30 am.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar, a former vice president, signed the deal last Monday, in line with a set deadline.

Both sides in the conflict have been facing the threat of international sanctions if they fail to sign the peace deal.

But Kiir and his government slammed the accord as a sellout — saying it needed more time for consultations. His spokesman later said he had agreed to sign even though they had reservations.

Key issues of disagreement include details of power-sharing proposal between the government and rebels, which could see Machar return as vice-president.

In a Security Council briefing, the UN's humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien warned that conditions in S.Sudan were deteriorating, saying he heard multiple accounts of atrocities, including people being burned in their homes.

South Sudan's civil war erupted in December 2013 when Kiir accused Dr Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that has split the poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines.