East African leaders call for end to S. Sudan fight

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-12-28 9:46:24

East African leaders attending a summit on Friday in the Kenyan capital Nairobi urged the rival sides of South Sudan to end violence.

The IGAD grouping Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Uganda and South Sudan is discussing actions if violence does not cease in four days, officials said.

Neither South Sudan's President Salva Kiir nor his arch-rival, former deputy president Riek Machar, attended the Nairobi summit.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta called for an immediate end to violence in South Sudan, saying IGAD will not allow anybody the overthrow a democratically-elected government.

He warned that the ongoing war in South Sudan, if continues, will cause millions of internally displaced persons and refugees and a setback to the regional development.

"Liaise with IGAD envoys and the Council of Ministers to craft a process of dialogue and mediation that leads to agreed political and technical reforms that will ensure no return to this crisis," said President Kenyatta in his speech at the summit.

He proposed the Africa Union, the international community and the United Nations support the constitutional and other political reforms that will emerge from the dialogue.

He stressed African ideas and contributions to a successful dialogue in South Sudan.

The Kenyan president urged the international community to ensure that humanitarian help should be immediately delivered to the internally displaced people and foreign refugees taking shelter at U. N. camps.

Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn flew to South Sudan's capital Juba on Thursday to hold talks with President Kiir for a solution to the country's political crisis.

South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, has been hit by intensive fighting since Dec. 15. Rebellious forces took control of some parts of the country, including some areas with oil resources.

Machar, 60, was forced to leave his position in July. President Kiir held him responsible for an attempted coup.

Posted in: Africa

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