The AU welcomes the signing of the “Agreement to Resolve the Crisis in South Sudan” by President Salva Kiir Mayardit of the Republic of South Sudan and Dr. Riek  Machar Teny, Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Opposition, in Addis Ababa on 9 May 2014, under the auspices of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia, Chair of IGAD.