4 June 2014 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to meet with former Vice-President Riek Machar on Monday, as agreed in the 9 May document aimed at ending fighting in the country.

In a telephone call with the President, Mr. Ban expressed “grave concern” about ongoing hostilities and called for an “immediate” end to all military operations, his spokesperson said.

Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in May, and agreed to end fighting after the 23 January Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities failed to stem what is now a six-month-old conflict.

As part of the May agreement, the two South Sudanese officials agreed to meet on a monthly basis to review progress in implementing the accord.

Meanwhile, fighting, which has uprooted over a million people, including 75,000-80,000 civilians sheltering at UNMISS bases around the country, continues. Mr. Ban urged the President to meet with Mr. Machar to “reach an agreement on substantive issues, including transitional arrangements”, the spokesperson said.

He also called on President Kiir to extend full support to UNMISS in implementing its new mandate, as set out by the Security Council at the end of last month.

The new mandate extends the work of UNMISS until 30 November, giving priority to protecting civilians and tackling the security, humanitarian and political crisis that has gripped the nation in recent months.

The head of UNMISS, Hilde F. Johnson, announced last week that she will be reaching the end of her term in July. No replacement has yet been announced.