DHAKA: South Sudan`s government and rebels have signed a ceasefire agreement after talks in Ethiopia.

Under the deal, signed in a hotel in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the fighting is due to come to an end within 24 hours.

In the past week, government forces have recaptured the two main cities under rebel control, reports BBC.

More than 500,000 people have been forced from their homes during the month-long conflict.

"These two agreements are the ingredients to create an environment for achieving a total peace in my country," said Taban Deng, head of the rebel delegation, AFP reports.

However, the South Sudanese government has expressed scepticism over whether the opposition will be able to control all the militias involved in fighting, the BBC`s Anne Soy reports.

Effective monitoring of the truce will be vital once it begins, as tension between the two sides is very high, South Sudan analyst James Copnall says.

The talks have now been adjourned and are due to continue on 7 February.

What started out as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar on 15 December escalated into full-scale conflict, with reports of ethnic killings.

A ceremony to mark the signing of the agreement on the "cessation of hostilities and the question of the detainees" took place at the hotel where the talks were hosted.

The agreement is thought to address the issue of 11 detainees whom the rebels wanted freed, and whose fate had previously left the talks deadlocked.

BDST: 1012 HRS, JAN 24, 2014