Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday for the South Sudan peace talks to end the more than four years of civil war.

In a press statement, Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said the two leaders who were received on arrival by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed are expected to attend the 32nd meeting of the regional bloc IGAD that will focus on ending South Sudan's civil war.

On Wednesday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his ex-deputy and leader of the main rebel group Riek Machar arrived in Ethiopia to attend the IGAD-sponsored peace talks dubbed as "the last big hope for peace" for the world's youngest nation.

IGAD's Council of Ministers summit earlier this month revealed a possibility of punitive measures against violators of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) that was signed by South Sudan's warring factions in December 2017 in Addis Ababa.

South Sudan descended into a civil war in late 2013, and the conflict has created one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.

The UN estimates that about 4 million South Sudanese have been displaced internally and externally.

Xinhua