Sam Mednick, The Associated Press

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) " South Sudan's fractious ruling party has reunited for the first time since civil war broke out in 2013.

The political opposition dissolved and rejoined the ruling party, according to an announcement Monday by First Vice President and former opposition chairman Taban Deng Gai.

The announcement comes ahead of peace talks led by a regional bloc and scheduled to be held in neighboring Ethiopia on May 17. South Sudan's government hopes the party's reunification will help advance the discussions. Previous attempts at peace have failed with a cease-fire signed on Dec. 24 breaking down within hours and the most recent round of talks in February ending in deadlock.

"The main issue in Addis is the breakdown of trust. If we unify and everyone comes together and we're one political party, it'll help trust building and negotiating will be easier," Agel Machar, spokesman for the office of the first vice president told The Associated Press.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is trying to bring all sides together at the conference to the table, he said. This includes the military opposition led by former Vice President Riek Machar.

Machar's force said the reunification of the ruling party will have no significance to the country's five-year conflict, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

"Taban just wants to find a spot in that government. He was not in command of any (opposition) forces since (Riek Machar) left Juba in 2016," said Lam Paul Gabriel, spokesman for Machar.

At least one analyst said the unification means "very little."

"The real (opposition) is still in rebellion. This just formalizes the status quo," said Alan Boswell, a South Sudan analyst for the Small Arms Survey.