African Union urges international community to lift South Sudan sanctions

JUBA – The African Union is appealing to the international community to lift sanctions and all punitive measures which it had imposed  against South Sudan over the civil war which ended in February with formation of the revitalized transitional government of national unity.

In a communiqué on Tuesday, the continent body appealed “to all concerned members of the international community to immediately lift all sanctions and other punitive measures imposed against Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, in order to facilitate the necessary enabling environment for smooth and successful transition process.”

South Sudan has been in a bloody civil war since December 2013. A peace deal was reached in August 2015,  but didn’t last longer and the country returned to war less than a year later.

A revitalized version of that peace agreement was signed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his now first deputy, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, under international pressure. While hopes of permanent peace cemented in March following the formation of the revitalized peace agreement, the two men are struggling to implement the deal.

Clashes triggered by defecting officers from both sides are causing concerns among the local population, painting a blurry image for the future of the implementation of the peace agreement as fighting in Central Equatoria state enters its second week.

Regional and international organizations are accusing the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit of hampering the efforts by other parties to implement the peace deal with the Human Rights Watch (HRW) calling last month on the United Nations Security Council to prolong sanction regime on the world’s youngest country.