{{U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned the continued bloodshed in South Sudan in violation of two ceasefire agreements and urged both sides in the conflict to halt all military operations in keeping with previous pledges.}}
The remarks came in a readout of a telephone conversation Ban had on Wednesday with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.
“He (Ban) expressed his grave concern that hostilities have continued in violation of the 23 January Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities and the 9 May Agreement between President Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar to resolve the crisis in South Sudan,” the U.N. press office said.
“He stressed the need for both parties to abide by these agreements and end all military operations immediately,” it said, noting that Ban urged Kiir and Machar to meet on June 9.
The United Nations has already said that maintaining a ceasefire was crucial for efforts to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in the world’s youngest country.
Fighting has killed thousands of people and driven more than 1.3 million from their homes.
Government forces and rebels, who have been fighting since mid-December, agreed a second ceasefire deal in May after the first one in January collapsed. South Sudan’s army spokesperson reported more clashes on Monday in Unity and Upper Nile states, oil producing areas that have been flashpoints in the conflict.
A senior U.N. official said on Tuesday that South Sudan can only avoid famine if the shaky ceasefire holds and people displaced by more than five months of fighting are able to return home in the next few weeks to plant crops before the rains.
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