Nairobi, May 2 (IANS) East African countries and the US Thursday warned individuals, who have been trying to destabilise the South Sudan peace process.
The foreign ministers from Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia during a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa agreed that obstructist elements will no longer be accepted, Xinhua reported.
“In a strict time-bound manner, their continued obstruction will be met with strong measures regionally and internationally,” Kenya’s ministry of foreign affairs’ statement said.
The meeting came a day after regional leaders called on the South Sudanese leaders to respect the terms of the ceasefire they reached earlier and to put the interest of their people above their differences.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said that the warring leaders must stop the fight and fulfill the aspirations that their people struggled for decades.
The ministers noted that the refusal by the warring parties to meet obligations to cease hostilities and the targeting of civilians was a sign that the region and the international community must take a stronger position in response.
The meeting was attended by Kenys’s Foerign Minister Amina Mohamed, Uganda’s Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa, Ethiopia’s Foeign Minister Tedros Adhanom, and US Secretary of State John Kerry.