Nairobi, March 29 -- Kenya's President William Ruto has named former Army Commander Lazarus Sumbeiywo the chief mediator in the conflict in South Sudan between hold-out groups and the government in Juba.

President Ruto said Sumbeiywo will be deputised by veteran diplomat Mohamed Ali Guyo.

Both have been assigned at the request of President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, according to a dispatch from State House, Nairobi.

They are supposed to "facilitate talks in Nairobi with opposition groups and other sections of society in that country.

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"These include 'holdout opposition groups organised under the rubric of South Sudan Opposition Alliance, religious groups and civil society.'

Sumbeiy...