AU chief says "time to act on South Sudan," signaling possibility of sanctions

The African Union head has said it is time to act on South Sudan.

Speaking on Saturday before the start of the AU summit in Mauritania, Moussa Faki Mahamat, called for measures against key players in the South Sudan conflict, signaling a possibility of sanctions.

“We are now used to the key actors in South Sudan not respecting their commitments… the situation is intolerable… It is time to act, to accept our responsibility,” he said.

His comments come after the latest ceasefire was violated on Saturday, just hours after taking effect. Both government and the opposition traded blame.

President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rival Riek Machar signed a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, in the presence of president Omar al-Bashir and other regional leaders.

Conflict in South Sudan erupted in 2013, when Kiir accused his then deputy Machar of plotting a coup. It has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over four million people.