President Salva Kiir has finally agreed to allow the 4,000 United Nations (UN) backed troops into South Sudan. This is a major breakthrough in the efforts by the international community to help restore peace in the world’s youngest country. Because of this, it is expected that the deposed Vice President Riek Machar, who had left the country, return to join hands with Kiir to implement the peace deal they both signed a year ago.

On Sunday, a delegation of the United Nations Security Council was in the capital city of Juba to meet with the South Sudanese government. The purpose of the meeting was to impress on Kiir the need for him to allow the approved regional troops into the country. In a shift of previous ground, the joint communiqué issued at the end of a meeting announced that South Sudan’s government has accepted the deployment of a 4,000-strong regional protection force. This would raise the number of UN peacekeepers in the country to 16,000.

“To improve the security situation, the Transitional Government of National Unity gave its consent to the deployment as part of UNMISS [UN Mission in South Sudan] of the Regional Protection Force,” the country’s Cabinet Affairs Minister, Martin Elia Lomoro, said.

Before now, Kiir had insisted he would not allow more external forces in the country. He did not believe it was the solution to the conflicts in his country. As diplomatic delay tactics, he posited that the newly inaugurated transitional national legislative assembly would decide on the UN’s resolution.

This new development is certainly welcome as it may usher in a more conducive environment for all parties in the country’s government to work. Now that Riek Machar’s request for the deployment of more international troops in Juba has been granted, security forces from both Kiir and Machar can ceasefire while their leaders continue the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement they signed.