Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, told a high-level diplomatic meeting in New York on Thursday that the country is ‘failing.’

“South Sudan has fertile land and valuable reserves of oil. It has a potentially vibrant economy. But instead of thriving, the country is failing,” he said.  

Ban said he has urged South Sudanese leaders to reach a peace agreement, adding, “The international community must remain committed to impose punitive measures on those responsible for the violence and impeding the peace process.”

He also said that “the leaders of South Sudan” are responsible for having “opened the wounds that have caused so much suffering.”

The UN Secretary-General stated that those responsible for atrocities must face justice “through a mechanism that meets international standards.”

He said that he opposes a declaration of amnesty for anyone responsible for killing innocent civilians, as called for by Cabinet Minister Martin Elia.

For breaking news updates from Radio Tamazuj ‘like’ our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our RSS feed.