JUBA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has called on the country's warring parties to abide by the truce agreement they signed late last year, warning that a surge of violence in Unity region "looks set to continue despite the ceasefire accord.
David Shearer, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of the UNMISS, called on the parties to fully implement the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.
"All sides need to abide by what they agreed to and their actions on the ground carefully monitored and scrutinized," he said late Wednesday during a visit to Leer and Dublual in the Unity region to see first-hand the impact of the deteriorating security situation.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday night after the visit, Shearer and a team from the UNIMISS met with both government and opposition leaders in the area, urging them to lay down their weapons, reconcile, and work together to build durable peace.
He said the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement last year had given the peace process momentum, but that it was at risk of unraveling without genuine political will.
"The intensification of the conflict is having a serious human impact. Hundreds of people are sheltering next to the UN base. We saw tukuls (huts) burnt to the ground. We were told that elderly people and children had been killed and medical clinics ransacked," said Shearer.
He said UNMISS would continue to fulfill its mandate, adding that the UN mission's job is still to protect people and help them get through these dark times so that the peace process can work.
"We will do all we can to support the people of South Sudan," he said.
South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to split within the SPLA, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines.
The 2015 peace agreement to end the conflict was weakened after the outbreak of renewed fighting in July 2016.