S Sudan president, rebel leader should face sanctions:UN panel

The UN Security Council should put South Sudan's president and rebel leader on a sanctions blacklist for targeting civilians, and impose an arms embargo, a UN panel of experts said.
President Salva Kiir and rebel chief Riek Machar are responsible for most of the violence committed during the war, now in its third year, said the report by the panel obtained by AFP today.
Imposing sanctions on the two leaders would be by far the strongest step yet taken by the 15-member council, which has been largely powerless to stop the fighting in South Sudan, one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"There is clear and convincing evidence that most of the acts of violence committed during the war, including the targeting of civilians and violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, have been directed by or undertaken with the knowledge of senior individuals at the highest levels of government and within the opposition," said the report.
Kiir and Machar "maintain command responsibility for their respective forces" and both sides have "consistently engaged in actions and policies" that are "grounds for the imposition of targeted sanctions," said the report.
The world's youngest nation, South Sudan has been torn by fighting between forces loyal to Kiir and rebels allied with Machar since December 2013 and the violence has exploded along ethnic lines.

After much international pressure and threats of sanctions, the leaders signed a peace deal in August, but the report confirmed the agreement had "failed to result in a meaningful reduction of violence."
The panel said both sides were actively seeking to buy arms and military equipment, even after the signing of the peace agreement.