UNSC set to meet on South Sudan

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to discuss the implementation of a recently signed ceasefire accord between rival forces in South Sudan. 

Diplomatic sources said the 15-member UN body would meet behind closed doors from 1400 GMT on Friday to assess the situation in the African country.

Ellen Margrethe Loej, the special representative of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), who is expected to speak by video-link from South Sudan's capital, Juba, will brief the council members about the situation on the ground in the war-torn country, diplomats added.

A draft UN resolution is also expected to be discussed during the session which suggests imposing an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on individuals who block provisions of the peace accord. Sources say the resolution has yet to come up for a vote.

The meeting comes after an agreement, signed by South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, raised hopes of an end to the 20-month-long internal war in the youngest African nation, which became independent in July 2011. 

A ceasefire was due to enter into force on Saturday, but fighting has continued in the Upper Nile state.The government troops and forces loyal to Machar have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire in recent days.

At least seven ceasefires have already been agreed and violated in South Sudan.

Machar signed the most recent agreement on August 17, while the South Sudanese president signed the peace deal some ten days later, on August 26, also producing a list of reservations he said would have to be addressed in order for the agreement to be finalized.

Under the most recent truce deal, which was brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), all fighting must stop immediately, child soldiers and prisoners of war must be released, and foreign forces must leave the country within 45 days.

A transitional government of national unity will also be formed within the next three months, with Machar regaining his previous post as first vice president.

South Sudan plunged into chaos in December 2013, when fighting erupted outside the capital, Juba, between troops loyal to Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy, Machar.

The 20-month-long violence has left thousands of people dead and forced almost two million people from their homes.

The UNSC has repeatedly warned South Sudan that it would consider imposing an arms embargo and additional sanctions if the country’s warring sides fail to implement the new peace deal.