The United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously condemned both sides on March 3 and threatened sanctions and an arms embargo should talks fail. A leaked high-level African Union (AU) report detailing and damning the human rights abuses perpetrated by both sides is said to recommend barring Kiir and Machar from participating in a transitional government, but without a plan for doing so. But there is international consensus, including between China and the US, that the South Sudanese must be allowed to determine their own political future, and that any mediation or related efforts will remain the responsibility of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) comprising South Sudan and its seven neighbours.

In South Sudan, popular fears and frustration over Kiir and Machar’s failure of leadership are also growing. The squandering of billions of dollars of oil wealth and corruption among Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) old guard right after independence rankle with many who are rightly fearful that war-disrupted oil production and the increasing likelihood that Chinese companies will leave will result in financial disaster that neither Kiir or Machar appear to grasp.

Available: http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2015/03/16/anc-well-placed-to-help-south-sudan