Deeply Alarmed at Violence in South Sudan, Secretary-General Urges Leaders to End Ongoing Fighting, Work as Partners in Implementing Agreement

The following statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was issued today:

I am deeply alarmed by the ongoing fighting in Juba between soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition.  This outbreak of hostilities in the capital, on the eve of the country’s fifth anniversary of independence, is yet another illustration of the parties’ lack of serious commitment to the peace process and represents a new betrayal of the people of South Sudan, who have suffered from unfathomable atrocities since December 2013.

I am also gravely concerned by the resurgence of violence in Wau and Bentiu, which could lead to a dramatic deterioration of the security situation across the country.  I demand that international humanitarian law be respected and also that unfettered access to those in need by United Nations and humanitarian partners be ensured.  I strongly condemn attacks on United Nations and humanitarian operations, the latest of which was on a senior United Nations agency official in the capital last night.

I urge President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar to put an immediate end to the ongoing fighting, discipline the military leaders responsible for the violence and finally work together as partners to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

The United Nations remains committed to working with all South Sudanese, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and international and regional partners, to support the return of the country to peace and stability.