South Sudan leaders putting country's future at 'grave risk', warns John Kerry

South Sudan’s promising future is “at grave risk of being squandered” because its leaders have failed to reach a lasting peace deal to end a bloody civil war more than a year after negotiations began^[1], US secretary of state John Kerry has warned.

Millions of lives are at risk of escalating violence and food shortages after fresh clashes between forces loyal to president Salva Kiir and those aligned to his former vice-president Riek Machar broke out last month in the country’s Upper Nile and Unity states. The International Crisis Group said the recent fighting, which has displaced more than 14,000 civilians^[2], is the most serious violence the country has seen since August last year.

South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013, after Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup^[3]. The war has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and displaced more than 1.5 million people within the country. About 520,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.

“With each day, the ranks of the hungry and the malnourished grow,” Kerry said on Monday during an official visit to Kenya. “And none of this had to happen, but it did happen because the country’s leaders failed to act on behalf of the best interests of their people and their nation.”

Kerry said the US would give $5m (£3.3m) towards a justice mechanism to hold perpetrators of South Sudan’s violence to account, and urged other international donors to contribute.

April’s bloodshed caused food security levels to slide in Upper Nile, Jonglei, Unity, Warrap, and Lakes states, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs^[4] (Ocha). The conflict is wreaking havoc on South Sudanese livelihoods as people can’t move freely around the country and are prevented from trading, planting crops and taking care of their livestock.

Related: South Sudan food crisis leaves people of Ganyiel desperate for a peace deal | Antony Loewenstein^[5]

Diplomats and aid agencies have urged warring factions to “urgently” form a binding peace deal to prevent further violence and avoid a looming food crisis. About 3.5 million people – nearly 40% of South Sudan’s population – will require emergency food assistance by June, according to the famine early warning systems network (Fews Net)^[6].

Several ceasefires have failed to end the country’s conflict, provoking frustration from the US, which in February presented a UN draft resolution threatening a global travel ban and assets freeze.^[7][8]

In a UN report leaked to Reuters, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said South Sudan’s leaders have “failed to see beyond their personal ambitions”, and threatened the imposition of sanctions on both sides.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), which is leading peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, said that “90% of differences” between the warring factions have been solved, but serious disputes remain. In response to the deadlock, Igad has announced a “different and innovative approach” to solving the conflict that will bring in Britain, China and the US, as well as other African mediators.

Military equipment allegedly seized during a battle in the contested area of south Darfur, Nyala, Sudan, on 4 May. Photograph: Marwan Ali/EPA

Christos Stylianides, the EU’s commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said: “Having just returned from South Sudan^[9], I am more concerned than ever about the deadlock of the peace talks and the intensification of fighting. These have terrible humanitarian consequences.”

A “substantial reduction” in violence would immediately improve humanitarian access and allow aid agencies to distribute food supplies, Ocha said.

But aid agencies remain sceptical that a peace deal will be formed in the coming weeks and warn of serious humanitarian consequences if fighting continues. “We are quite concerned that the security situation will deteriorate,” said Juan Prieto, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of mission in South Sudan. “The rainy season is coming and that’s a very worrisome factor for us, especially because of [the prospect of] cholera.”

Heavy rains are expected to hit the country in June, making it difficult to traverse road networks and deliver food supplies.

The number of South Sudanese people requiring humanitarian assistance has increased by about 500,000 over the past year, but aid agencies say they are finding it harder to reach communities in areas hit by violence.

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it had suspended humanitarian services in Akoka and Fashoda counties in Upper Nile State following the disappearance of three WFP staff members and their vehicles^[10] while transporting food supplies from Malakal to Melut on 1 April. At least 10 aid workers have been killed or abducted in Upper Nile State since the conflict began.

In the past, clinics and hospitals across the country have been looted and destroyed during the fighting^[11]. But combatants have not attacked MSF’s medical facilities over the past few months, Prieto said.

Stylianides said: “Humanitarian aid saves lives but it cannot solve the crisis. A sustainable peace agreement is urgently needed.”

References

1. ^{^} more than a year after negotiations began (www.bbc.co.uk)
2. ^{^} which has displaced more than 14,000 civilians (www.crisisgroup.org)
3. ^{^} Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup (www.theguardian.com)
4. ^{^} according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (www.humanitarianresponse.info)
5. ^{^} South Sudan food crisis leaves people of Ganyiel desperate for a peace deal | Antony Loewenstein (www.theguardian.com)
6. ^{^} according to the famine early warning systems network (Fews Net) (www.fews.net)
7. ^{^} Several ceasefires have failed to end the country’s conflict (www.theguardian.com)
8. ^{^} presented a UN draft resolution (twitter.com)
9. ^{^} South Sudan (www.theguardian.com)
10. ^{^} the disappearance of three WFP staff members and their vehicles (www.wfp.org)
11. ^{^} clinics and hospitals across the country have been looted and destroyed during the fighting (www.theguardian.com)