United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Earlier on Monday he
expressed “the full support of the United Nations for the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development mediation process” to end the
current South Sudan conflict. The United Nations Security Council has
expressed unqualified support for the East African mediation efforts in
South Sudan led by Kenya and Ethiopia. PHOTO/FILE
The United Nations Security Council has
expressed unqualified support for the East African mediation efforts in
South Sudan led by Kenya and Ethiopia.
Following a
meeting on what the council president termed “a very, very dire
situation” Tuesday, member-states said they welcomed “the continued and
essential engagement of Igad [Intergovernmental Authority on
Development] to push for immediate dialogue among South Sudan’s
leaders”.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier on
Monday expressed “the full support of the United Nations for the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development mediation process.”
The UN Secretary-General urged the South Sudan government to free political prisoners to facilitate talks with rebels.
He
added that the Security Council was holding a crisis meeting on latest
efforts to reinforce UN peacekeepers in the world’s newest country.
“It is very, very dire situation,” Council President, Gérard Araud of France, told reporters after the meeting.
Mr
Ban’s Special Representative, Hilde Johnson, briefed the 15-member body
by video link from Juba on the latest developments in the fighting, the
mediation efforts and the steps by humanitarian agencies to bring aid
to those in need.
The fighting in South Sudan, which
only gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan, erupted on
December 15 when President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former
deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed in July, launched an attempted
coup.
Mr Kiir belongs to the Dinka ethnic group and Mr. Machar to the Lou Nuer.
The conflict has been increasingly marked by reports of ethnically targeted violence.
Thousands
of people are estimated to have died in the violence and some 180,000
others have been driven from their homes, with up to 75,000 of them
seeking refuge at UN camps.
The UN peacekeeping Mission
in South Sudan (UNMISS) has been authorised by the Council to almost
double its armed strength to nearly 14,000 in an effort to protect
civilians.
“It’s a situation that is really tragic,” Mr Araud said.
“It’s impossible to assess the number of casualties, but it’s really pretty high.”
UN
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous said
it is hoped that all peacekeeping reinforcements will be on the ground
within one to three weeks.
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