Church leaders in South Sudan's Unity State have called for peace to be restored in the country, following the conclusion of the latest round of peace talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

An ecumenical prayer was held recently in Leer town, the hometown of former vice president Riek Machar, one of the war leaders. The churches called for peace and lasting reconciliation in the country's most volatile areas especially in greater Upper Nile region.

The churches urged authorities and faithful people to unite in one prayer to ask God for the gift of peace for South Sudan, so that the war will end and normal life will come back to the places affected by war.

The Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Church and the Catholic Church were part of the Leer prayer service.

"A special prayer is needed for the Peace Talks that now are taking place in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. In one voice all the participants in the prayer implore God to make the year 2015 the year of peace for South Sudan," the clergy said.

The church leaders said peace was the only way the country would prosper. They called on youths to be symbols of peace and love, urging them to drop tribal ideology.

South Sudan's church's have played the role of observers at peace talks in Addis Ababa, where two warring groups have recently announced plans to reunite to rule the country once again together, without reaching a specific deal on how they would do so.

Some previous agreements in South Sudan such as the 1999 Wunlit agreement and the 1973 Addis Ababa agreement were mediated by clergy directly, but they are not playing a direct mediating role in the current conflict.

File photo: Christian youths in northern Unity State (Radio Tamazuj)