UNITED NATIONS, June 5: The UN secretary-general is urging the president of South Sudan to meet his rival next week, even though the peace deal that promised the June 9 meeting fell apart within days.
Ban Ki-moon yesterday spoke by phone with President Salva Kiir and urged that all military operations end “immediately.”
A statement from Ban’s office says the secretary-general expressed “grave concern” that fighting has continued in spite of peace deals reached in January and in May between Kiir and former vice-president Riek Machar.
A second statement said Ban also spoke with Machar.
The latest peace deal committed Kiir and Machar to meet monthly.
Thousands in South Sudan have been killed in violence and ethnic attacks since December, when tensions flared between troops loyal to the two men. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel