11th August, 2015
The South Sudan Council of Churches has urged all parties to the country’s ongoing conflict to sign a proposed "compromise agreement" to bring an end to the fighting in their country.
The agreement was proposed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) during meetings in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in July and is now being put to various faction leaders in South Sudan by their representatives.
Following a meeting in late July, Christian leaders representing member churches of the SSCC issued a statement calling for an "immediate and unconditional end" to the fighting in South Sudan.
"The war must stop immediately," they said. "There is no moral justification for this senseless war. It is unacceptable that people continue to kill and be killed while leaders argue over power, positions and percentage."
The leaders urged all parties to sign the agreement and to honour it by implementing a ceasefire.
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, expressed his strong support of the SSCC statement, saying their plea "must be heard now". "They speak on behalf of a whole nation which is in severe crisis. God loves every citizen. Now is the time to stop this senseless killing."
– DAVID ADAMS
