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South Sudan says arms embargo, sanctions not solution to violence

Xinhua, November 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Sudan said on Friday arms embargo and sanctions being pushed by the United States on the country would not end the escalating violence.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mawen Makol Arik said the threat of arms embargo and sanctions would further complicate the process of implementing a fragile peace deal signed last year between rival leaders.

"There is no reason for arms embargo here because the peace implementation is ongoing," Arik said.

South Sudan fell into civil war in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup. Machar denied the accusation but then mobilized a rebel force.

A peace deal signed last August between Kiir and Machar under UN pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April, but was shattered by renewed fighting that erupted in early July.

Arik said the government had not reneged on the commitment to implement the August 2015 peace deal and urged the international community to enhance the peace process by engaging all warring parties in dialogue.

"We hope the final solution to our problems is by implementing the peace agreement to bring stability in the country and we also hope that our international partners will still pursue the path of peace to make South Sudan prosperous," Arik said.

The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, on Thursday called for a UN arms embargo and sanctions against groups and individuals responsible for the violence in South Sudan.

The call came after a UN report said the conflict could turn into genocide amid increased ethnic tensions.

Adama Dieng, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General for Prevention of Genocide, concluded a three-day trip to South Sudan earlier this week. He warned that the country risked spiraling into genocide if nothing was done to calm the situation.

"Inflammatory rhetoric, stereotyping and name calling have been accompanied by targeted killings and rape of members of particular ethnic groups," Dieng said.

The civil war has left tens of thousands dead and more than two million displaced. Endit