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U.S. urges warring parties in S. Sudan to strike peace deal as deadline nears

Xinhua, March 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

The United States on Monday urged the warring parties in South Sudan to seize the final round of talks to reach a deal that can end the violence and "deliver a sustainable peace."

"Leaders must put the interests of their people above their own. The violence must end. A negotiated conclusion to this conflict is required now," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a statement issued by the State Department.

Kerry noted that both South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and rebel leader, former Vice President Riek Machar have promised time and again to negotiate a transitional government under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) process, but have failed to make the compromises needed.

"The world is watching to see what the leaders of South Sudan will do," Kerry said. "The IGAD has outlined the way forward to a transitional government and necessary reforms, but the two sides continue to obfuscate and delay."

The top U.S. diplomat said that until Thursday the warring parties have to secure an agreement "that is inclusive, that initiates a broad range of transitional reforms and that ensures those responsible for human rights abuses are held to account."

Kerry said the United States will work with international partners, the UN Security Council and other parties "to take further concerted action against those who do not demonstrate a willingness to make the difficult decisions needed for peace."

"The choice is clear, and for the sake of all the people of South Sudan, I urge them to choose peace," he said.

The final round of the IGAD-led South Sudan peace process kicked off on Feb. 23 in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The IGAD has been mediating the South Sudan negotiations to end the conflict that erupted in December 2013 in the world's newest nation.

Under the agreement signed by Kiir and Machar on Feb. 1 in Addis Ababa to end the conflict, the two sides agreed to finalize a comprehensive peace agreement no later than March 5. Endi