AU, UN condemn violations of ceasefire accord in South Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Commission and the United Nations on Friday strongly condemned the recent violations of a cease-fire agreement in South Sudan.

According to a joint statement, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemn the recent violations of the 21 December 2017 Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access in South Sudan."

"They call on all South Sudanese fighting parties to immediately cease all hostilities, desist from undertaking any further military operations, and uphold their commitments to the 21 December 2017 Agreement," the statement said.

It added that "they further call on the parties to uphold their primary responsibility to protect civilians, adhere to international human rights and humanitarian law and ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access."

Mahamat and Guterres "underscore the determination of the international and regional community to ensure that the parties abide by their obligations and responsibilities," it said.

"They express their full support for the second phase of the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) under the leadership of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). They call on the parties to participate in the Forum in good faith and with a view towards reaching a compromise and bringing South Sudan back to the path of sustainable peace," the statement said.

They "reaffirm their belief that there can only be a political solution to the conflict in South Sudan, and the parties must demonstrate the political will to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and update the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) in order to end the appalling suffering inflicted on the South Sudanese population," the statement concluded.

The cease-fire agreement signed between the South Sudanese government and several rebel groups on Dec. 21 was brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African regional bloc. Enditem