Countries in the region are making a last ditch effort to prevent South Sudan from degenerating into full-scale war.

Leaders from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) were meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to put diplomatic pressure on Juba to accept the planned deployment of a regional intervention force, which President Salva Kiir had rejected.

However, at the summit, Juba agreed to the deployment of the protection force without any conditions.

READ: East African leaders in Addis for summit on South Sudan

Sources within Igad told The EastAfrican that Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda have been considering deploying about 14,000 troops to secure the capital and act as a buffer between forces loyal to President Kiir and Dr Riek Machar, who fled Juba on July 11. 

This comes as forces loyal to President Kiir and those of Dr Machar continue to fight in the bush around Yei-Juba Road. While Dr Machar had threatened to march on Juba in the absence of an intervention force, the government military spokesperson, Brig Lul Ruai Koang, on Wednesday declared war on the opposition forces.

South Sudan deputy ambassador to Kenya Jimmy Deng told The EastAfrican that there are already 12,000 United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) troops on the ground and if the region wants a regional force, they can pick Rwandan, Kenyan and Ethiopian soldiers already with the UN to protect Dr Machar.

Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO) representative in Kenya, Lam Jok, said that the Addis Ababa meeting could be the last opportunity for the region to save the peace agreement.

“If the region fails, we are ready to march to Juba,” said Mr Jok.

The UN Security Council has extended the stay of the UNMISS peacekeepers until August 12 but is planning to extend their mandate from peacekeeping to peace enforcement. The regional intervention force will operate within UNMISS with the sole mandate to secure Juba and protect the population.

Uganda, Sudan troops left out

Tanzania has also expressed interest in contributing troops to the regional force even though the country is not a member of Igad.  However Uganda and Sudan have been left out because the former had taken sides when it deployed troops to help President Kiir in 2013, while the South Sudan government is not comfortable with Sudanese troops in the capital Juba.

This comes as the third partner to the August 2015 peace agreement is calling for South Sudan to be put under the United Nations trusteeship following the recent fighting that started on July 8.

Former SPLM secretary-general Pagan Amum has formed an advocacy group seeking to bring the world’s youngest nation under the administration of the United Nations, arguing that President Kiir and Dr Machar have failed to hold the country together.

Calls for alternative leadership have been growing in the recent past. Dr Cirino Hiteng, a former assistant minister for foreign affairs, told The EastAfrican that it may be necessary for Igad to consider a neutral leader for the interim period — probably a bishop.

“It is now apparent that the agreement has virtually collapsed but we respect the efforts of the region to make it work. The agreement can only work if it is amended to reflect the reality that the two will be unable to work together after the recent fighting,” said Dr Hiteng.

The agreement suffered another setback on Tuesday when President Kiir sacked four SPLM-IO minsters, just a week after replacing Dr Machar as the first vice president with Taban Deng Gai.

READ: Kiir now fires ministers allied to Machar

Mr Gai however, at the Addis meeting, said he was willing step down so that Mr Machar can resume as the first vice president.