UN tells South Sudan to address rights abuses

The UN Security Council on Wednesday welcomed South Sudan's new unity government and said it must ensure that those responsible for horrific rights abuses in the two-year war face justice.

The transitional unity government was sworn in on Friday after rebel leader Riek Machar returned to Juba, in line with a peace deal signed in August that has yet to fully take hold.

The 15-member council said in a joint statement that the formation of the new government was an "important milestone."

(From L) First Vice President of South Sudan Riek Machar, President Salva Kiir and Second Vice President of James Wani Igga after the formation of the new cabinet of the Transitional Government in Juba on April 29, 2016 ©Charles Lomodong (AFP/File)

Council members "underscored the pressing need for accountability for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in South Sudan, including ongoing violations and abuses that have been reported since the agreement was signed," said the council.

The United States is pushing for the rapid creation of a special court backed by the African Union to try war crimes suspects.

The creation of the hybrid court and a separate truth and reconciliation commission was a key provision of the peace accord signed by Machar and President Salva Kiir.

The council laid out a list of tasks for the new leadership including reaching agreement on elections after the 30-month transition, solidifying a permanent ceasefire and rooting out corruption.

South Sudan's war began in December 2013, when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The conflict has torn open ethnic divisions and been characterized by atrocities, including gang rapes, the wholesale burning of villages and cannibalism.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million have been driven from their homes in violence that erupted just two years after South Sudan won independence.