South Sudan risks return to full-scale war, observer says

JUBA, South Sudan – An international conflict research group said South Sudan is at risk of falling back into full-scale war, just two months after the government and rebels formed a coalition government aimed at ending more than two years of conflict.

The International Crisis Group said Friday that the two sides are flouting a peace agreement they signed in August and are preparing for widespread conflict.

The group’s South Sudan researcher Casie Copeland said the two sides have not shown willingness to compromise on issues such as oversight of security arrangements.

The warning comes after violence rocked three of the country’s 10 states in June.

Meanwhile, the head of the international ceasefire monitoring team said its workers are increasingly harassed, intimidated and detained while trying to do their work.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday issued a statement expressing “deep alarm” over the fighting in Wau which broke out on June 24, resulting in the displacement of an estimated 70,000 people, including 12,000 sheltering near a base for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

The Security Council called for a cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in need, including nearly 9,000 people sheltering at a school.

Council members also demanded that the rival factions implement all aspects of the peace agreement.