Soldiers of the Sudan People Liberation Army sit in a pick-up truck at
the military base in Malakal, northern South Sudan, on October 16, 2016.
UNITED NATIONS
The
United States on Thursday launched a bid at the Security Council to
impose an arms embargo on...
South Sudan following UN warnings that the
war-torn country could descend into genocide.
US
Ambassador Samantha Power said a draft resolution will be presented to
the council in the coming days to ban weapons sales to the African
country and impose sanctions, setting the stage for a clash with Russia,
which opposes an arms embargo.
"South Sudan is a nation at the precipice," Power told the council.
"In
the coming days, the United States will put forward a proposal to
impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and targeted sanctions on the
individuals who have been the biggest spoilers to achieve lasting
peace," she said.
Of the council's
permanent, veto-wielding members, Britain and France backed the proposed
arms embargo, but Russia reaffirmed its opposition and China expressed
reservations.
The move followed a
recent report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who warned that South
Sudan faces a "very real risk of mass atrocities" and that 14,000
peacekeepers deployed in the country would not be able to stop such a
bloodbath.
The US-drafted text seen
by AFP calls for a one-year ban on all sales of arms, weapons,
ammunition, military vehicles and equipment.
Power
said months of talks with South Sudan's leaders had failed to persuade
them to opt for peace as she made the case for a travel ban and an
assets freeze on those behind the violence.
"There
is no good reason why we would not deprive those who have shown a
willingness to commit mass atrocities of the means of doing it more
efficiently," she said.
RUSSIAN OPPOSITION
Russian
Deputy Ambassador Petr Iliichev dismissed an arms embargo as
"premature," saying it would "hardly be helpful in settling the
conflict" and warning that sanctions against South Sudan's leaders would
be "the height of irresponsibility."
In
a barb directed at the United States, he suggested that President Salva
Kiir was being targeted to share the same fate as Moamer Kadhafi, the
Libyan leader toppled in 2011.
China's
Deputy Ambassador Wu Haito said the council should refrain from
sanctions "to avoid complicating the situation" and "send more positive
signals" instead.
Returning from a
visit to South Sudan, the UN's adviser on genocide prevention, Adama
Dieng, said he "saw all the signs that ethnic hatred and targeting of
civilians could evolve into genocide if something is not done now to
stop it."
He cited perceptions that
Kiir's army was "increasingly ethnically homogenous," composed mostly of
ethnic Dinka, who are preparing to launch attacks against Nuer and
other groups.
Dieng urged the council to end the "devastating" flow of weapons fuelling the war.
South
Sudan's Ambassador Joseph Moum Malok rejected the proposed embargo as a
"totally unacceptable" violation of his country's sovereignty.
The
authorities in Juba, confronting an "armed rebellion intent on
overthrowing the government," he argued, should not be deprived of the
means to defend themselves.
The
world's youngest nation, South Sudan descended into war in December
2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than 2.5 million people
displaced.
The country won independence from Sudan in 2011 with strong support from the United States.
A
peace deal between Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar in August last
year had raised hopes of peace, until clashes erupted in Juba four
months ago.
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