US, Britain warn S Sudan parties over ceasefire violations

JUBA: The United States, Britain and Norway have called on parties in the South Sudan conflict and their field commanders to stop violating the ceasefire signed last month, their head of missions in Juba said on Tuesday.

There have been at least five violations reported, blamed on both sides in the conflict. The United States, Britain and Norway form a group that supported the 2005 accord leading to the independence of South Sudan from Sudan.

They have threatened to impose individual or group sanctions for those violating the ceasefire. Signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the ceasefire is the latest attempt to end a four-year civil war, that has killed tens of thousands. It is also designed to allow humanitarian groups access to civilians caught in the fighting. It aims to revive a 2015 peace deal that collapsed in 2016 after heavy fighting erupted in the capital Juba.