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African Union Threatens Sanctions In S. Sudan Violence

African Union Threatens Sanctions In S. Sudan Violence

Two weeks of ethnic fighting that is thought to have left thousands dead prompted the African Union to threaten targeted sanctions over violence in war-torn South Sudan, BusinessStandard reports.

Meeting in The Gambia, the A.U. expressed “Africa’s dismay and disappointment that the continent’s newest nation should descend so quickly into civil strife, with the potential of rapidly deteriorating into ethnic clashes and a full-fledged civil war.”

The South Sudanese government and rebels fighting to overthrow it both agreed to a ceasefire, according to an announcement by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an East African organization attempting to mediate the conflict, EuroNews reported.

But the violence continued. Early Tuesday, Dec. 31, rebels announced they had captured the strategic city of Bor in Central South Sudan.

The A.U. called on all sides to “immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities,” and said it would work with regional leaders of the Inter-Governmental Authority to prepare sanctions.

The pan-Africa bloc’s Peace and Security Council said in a statement it would “take appropriate measures, including targeted sanctions, against all those who incite people to violence, including along ethnic lines.”

Violence broke out Dec. 15 in South Sudan when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup.

The A.U. demanded that Machar meet face-to-face with Kiir by today. There is little chance of the deadline being met, BusinessStandard reported.