S Sudan warned of sanctions if peace deal fails

Saturday, 29 August 2015 5:19 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 29 August 2015 5:19 AM ]

The UN Security Council members listen as Ellen Margrethe Loj, the special representative of the secretary-general and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), speaks on the situation in South Sudan on August 25, 2015.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has warned South Sudan that it would consider imposing an arms embargo and additional sanctions if the country’s warring sides fail to implement a new peace deal.

On Friday, the 15-member council warned South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar to act on the Compromise Peace Agreement expected to take effect on Saturday.

The UNSC voiced its readiness to consider “appropriate measures to ensure full implementation of the Agreement … and address any violations or failures of any party to implement its provisions, including through the imposition of an arms embargo and additional targeted sanctions.”

Machar had signed the agreement on August 17 while the South Sudanese president signed the peace deal some ten days later, on August 26, also producing a list of reservations he said would have to be addressed in order for the agreement to be finalized.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (C) signs the Compromise Peace Agreement in the capital, Juba, on August 26, 2015. (AFP photo)

The council said those responsible for human rights violations must also be brought to justice.

The UNSC also urged the continued engagement of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the "IGAD-Plus," which involves 19 countries and organizations, including the UN, working to bring about a peace deal in the country.

Under the agreement, all fighting must stop immediately, child soldiers and prisoners of war must be released, and foreign forces must leave the country within 45 days.

A transitional government of national unity will also be formed within the next three months, with Machar regaining his previous post as first vice-president.

The picture taken on January 7, 2014 shows South Sudanese civilians walking at an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp run by the United Nations in Juba. (AFP photo)

South Sudan plunged into chaos in December 2013, when fighting erupted around Juba between troops loyal to Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy, Machar.

The 20-month-long violence has left thousands of people dead and forced almost two million people from their homes. At least seven ceasefires have already been agreed and violated.

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