The United Nations Security Council on Thursday issued an urgent appeal for an immediate cessation of hostilities in South Sudan.
Simultaneously, the council extended its peacekeeping mission in the conflict-ridden nation for an additional year.
The UNSC resolution “demands all parties to the conflict and other armed actors to immediately end the fighting throughout South Sudan and engage in political dialogue.”
The resolution also called for an end to violence targeting civilians and expressed deep concern regarding the reported use of barrel bombs in the country.
The resolution passed with 12 votes in favor, while Russia, China, and Pakistan abstained from the vote.
Human rights organizations have recently raised serious alarms about the deadly deployment of improvised and unguided explosive devices in the northern regions of South Sudan.
The young and economically challenged nation has been plagued by years of widespread insecurity and persistent political instability.
Recent escalations in Upper Nile State, involving forces aligned with President Salva Kiir and those loyal to his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, have heightened fears of a renewed full-scale civil war.
Thursday’s resolution also extended the mandate of the UN’s peacekeeping mission, which was initially established in 2011 with the aim of consolidating peace in the newly formed nation, until next April.
Furthermore, the resolution retains the option of “adjusting” the peacekeeping force and modifying its mandate as deemed necessary, “based on security conditions on the ground.”
Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea emphasized that the international community should utilize the peacekeeping deployment as a crucial tool to pull the country “back from the brink” of further conflict.
Shea also stated that it would be “irresponsible” for the international community to continue funding preparations for elections following the transitional leadership’s decision last September to postpone any ballot for a period of two years.