"I know this is not part of the summit but I have to raise it here. If it were not for the intervention of President Museveni many more lives and property would have been lost.

But we are still strong and determined to defeat the enemy although they continue to break the cease fire agreement,” said Mr Kiir at the opening of the 6th Northern Corridor Integration Project Summit at Serena hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. "We are determined to defeat the enemy,” Mr Kiir added.

Uganda deployed troops in South Sudan shortly after clashes erupted in South Sudan mid-December last year and has raged on for close to six months now. An estimated 10,000 people, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), died in the weeks of conflict, with as many as 850,000 displaced in various parts of the country.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President turned foe Riek Machar last month signed a peace deal which called for an immediate truce and the formation of a transitional government ahead of the drafting of a new constitution and new elections.

During the introductory remarks President Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and his counterparts, Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Uhuru Kinyata said they concurred with the resolutions passed by the earlier ministerial meetings and others passed in the recent summits.

The North Corridor Ministerial Meeting held on July 2, 2014 approved the formal joining of the Republic of South Sudan while Burundi decided to stay as observer for the coming three months and eventually join the projects. The projects under the Northern Corridor also rose from eight to 14 to expedite holistic integration of countries of the Northern Corridor.