Washington, DC, August 4, 2015 (SSNA) — The United States’ President, Barack Obama, on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to South Sudanese warring factions, saying the two competing sides must sign a peace agreement by the 17th of August–a date proposed by the IGAD-Plus.
The warning comes after Obama met with the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in a closed-door meeting in the White House. The US leader added that South Sudan’s rival leaders are incapable of creating a peace deal.
"If they [Kiir and Machar] miss that target [August 17] then I think it is going to be necessary for us to move forward with a different plan, and recognize that those leaders are incapable of creating the peace that is required," Obama warns.
It is not clear what the US or IGAD-Plus would do if the proposed compromise peace agreement failed.
However, the US president warned that the two leaders, Machar and Kiir, risk being sidelined if they refused to strike a deal by the August dateline.
On July 30, US Special Envoy to South Sudan Donald Booth delivered a strong message to South Sudan’s warring factions, stating that the United States has “run out of patience” over nearly two year old conflict.