The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said that genocide was about to start in South Sudan unless immediate action is taken, reiterating his call for the Security Council to impose an arms embargo.
“If we fail to act, South Sudan will be on a trajectory towards mass atrocities. The Security Council must take steps to stem the flow of arms to South Sudan,” Ban told the 15-member Security Council.
Ban said reports suggested President Salva Kiir and his supporters are contemplating a new military offensive in the coming days against opposition troops allied to opposition leader Riek Machar.
He pointed out that there are clear indications that Riek Machar and other opposition groups are also pursuing a military escalation.
Ki-moon noted that his special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, has described genocide as a process in South Sudan. He said: “I am afraid that process is about to begin unless immediate action is taken.”
Last month, Dieng told the council that he had seen all the signs that ethnic hatred and targeting of civilians could evolve into genocide in the world’s youngest nation.
File photo: Ban Ki-moon