South Sudan needs 'different, innovative' peace push: mediator

Addis Ababa (AFP) - A top mediator leading failed efforts to end South Sudan's civil war torn said Tuesday that regional powers will soon be launching a new "innovative" push for peace.

Over a year of talks mediated by East Africa's eight-country IGAD bloc have failed to make headway, with the latest attempt breaking down last month and both the rebels and government accused of seeking a military solution to the 16-month-old conflict.

"IGAD will now think of a different and innovative approach to solve the conflict," IGAD's chief negotiator Seymoum Mesfin told reporters, saying that "90 percent of differences" between the two sides were resolved "but some issues are still a deal breaker".

Diplomats said the new peace push would bring in diplomatic heavyweights including Britain, China, the United States and more African nations.

South Sudan's civil war started in December 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar, who had been sacked as vice president, of attempting a coup.

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution paving the way for sanctions, with a diplomat close to the talks saying Kiir and Machar would be targeted if a lasting deal is not struck soon.

"If they reject this agreement, they will be sanctioned," a diplomat close to negotiations said. "Their bank accounts will be frozen and they will be subject to a travel ban by the UN Security Council."

In Juba, Kiir on Tuesday addressed graduating students, where he said he wanted to bring "peace back to our country so that we can all focus on the development."

The war devastating the world's youngest nation has killed tens of thousands of people, analysts and experts say. It has also left over half of the country's 12 million people in need of aid, according to the UN.