The second round of peace talks between South Sudan's government and holdout opposition groups scheduled for today has been postponed, a senior opposition official said.

South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA), a coalition of opposition groups that did not join the 2018 peace agreement, signed a truce agreement with the government of President Salva Kiir in Rome, Italy on 12 January.

This came following a meeting hosted and mediated by the Rome-based Sant’ Egidio Community.

"The meeting has been postponed until February 12 because the invitation was announced on short notice," Lako Jada Kwajok, chairman of the NAS’s international relations committee, told Radio Tamazuj this morning.

“We don’t have a problem with the meeting as SSOMA members, but the issue is that our leaders were not ready to arrive on time. So we asked the mediators to postpone the meeting,” he added.

Kwajok further said representatives of South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance will prepare for the next phase of the talks and engage firmly.

According to the opposition official, the next round of peace negotiations in Rome is expected to focus on political matters to endorse military mechanisms and the cessation of hostilities deal.

The latest push for peace with the holdout opposition factions comes as President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar struggle to implement the revitalised peace agreement that has largely stopped fighting in the country.

But the peace agreement is already behind schedule and there are worries that the parties may not meet a February 22 deadline to form a unity government.