US urges South Sudan to seize last chance to save peace deal

Haley's appeal to South Sudan's feuding leaders to support the High Level Revitalization Forum that IGAD is trying to convene to bring them together was echoed by nearly all council members and U.N. special envoy for South Sudan David Shearer.

Shearer painted a grim picture of the impoverished, war-torn nation as it approaches the end of the rainy season.

"The government appears emboldened by its recent military gains," he said. "Across the country, the opposition remains deeply fractured and has suffered significant military setbacks in recent months."

At the same time, Shearer said, South Sudan is "beset by social, economic and humanitarian challenges" and an economic crisis is fueling public frustration with many civil servants unpaid for over four months and salaries to security forces delayed. In addition, he said, deep distrust of military forces, "exacerbated by human rights abuses," is fueling the flight of many people to neighboring countries.

Shearer said the splintering of opposition forces has had "negative consequences" for the delivery of humanitarian aid. As an example, he said the World Food Program's regular convoys to Yambio — normally two days travel from the capital Juba — now require "13 separate permissions from armed groups along its route."