S. Sudanese president calls for reconciliation, vows action on ethnic violence

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Wednesday pledged to pursue perpetrators of ethnic violence in the country's Equatoria region which has seen an increase in targeted killings in recent weeks.

President Kiir told hundreds of supporters of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) party in Juba that he will take direct command of the fight against ethnic violence if the country's security operatives agencies fail to stop the killings.

The government said last week that at least 95 lives have been lost in targeted killings along major roads across South Sudan since September.

The president accused groups plotting to put his country under foreign intervention of spearheading the violence, adding that the 4,000 strong UN protection approved by the Security Council in August will not solve the country's unrest.

He called on all South Sudanese to embrace peace and reconciliation in the young African country which has suffered civil unrest since December 2013.

"This is a political incitement and it is done by people who want to urge the international community to bring in the UN intervention force. But even if the intervention forces come here, the people who are calling you will never love it," Kiir said.

"To transform this country to a democratic, just and prosperous nation, there is a need to urgently return peace to this country. And today, I commission all of you in the SPLM to go out into our country and preach peace and reconciliation among our people," he added. Endit