'Messy' peace hope as South Sudan readies for Machar's return

Troop members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in opposition (SPLA/M-IO) get off a UN plane upon their arrival at Juba airport on March 28, 2016, as part of the peace agreement signed between rebel forces and the Government in August 2015. PHOTO | AFP

On a dusty patch of earth cut into thick bush on the outskirts of South Sudan's capital, hundreds of rebel soldiers who took part in a more than two-year civil war have set up a new base.

The camp is basic: a few blue tents in the baking heat, piles of cut grass to build thatch hut shelters, pit latrines and a few leaky water taps.