Time has come to impose sanctions on South Sudan: AU chief

Chairperson of the African Union Moussa Faki says restrictions must be imposed on those who are disturbing peace in South Sudan following a nearly four-year civil war in the African country.

"The time has come to sanction those who are blocking peace," Faki said in an address to the opening of the 30th annual African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Sunday.

He deplored the "unbelievable cruelty" and "senseless violence" of warring sides in South Sudan.

Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 just two years after gaining independence, when disagreements between President Kiir and then Vice President Riek Machar turned into an armed conflict between their loyalists. While fighting generally subsided early last year, clashes once again intensified in July 2016.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than four million people have been driven from their homes, while millions of others are suffering from hunger in a humanitarian crisis expected to worsen as the lean season sets in.

The UN and international rights groups have on numerous occasions accused both Machar’s loyalists and government troops of committing atrocities during their military operations.

A team of United Nations rights experts in December deplored the atrocities committed by all conflicting sides in South Sudan, urging punishment of the perpetrators.

SS