US to Impose Arms Embargo Against South Sudan

The United States is expected to announce an arms embargo against South Sudan on Friday, sources told the Reuters news agency.

The sources familiar with the decision spoke exclusively to Reuters on condition of anonymity and said the U.S. is aiming to step up pressure against President Salva Kiir to end the country’s civil war and humanitarian crisis.

The warring sides in South Sudan have repeatedly violated cease-fires, and the U.S. has already sanctioned some top officials close to Kiir, including the once-powerful army chief Paul Malong, who was later fired and forced into exile.

Although the U.S. has no weapons trade with South Sudan, arms from eastern European countries continue to flow into the African country through neighboring states, a U.S. source told Reuters.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who visited South Sudan in late October and met with Kiir, told the U.N. Security Council last Wednesday it was time to impose a U.N. arms embargo on South Sudan.

In December 2016, the Obama administration had attempted to convince the U.N. to back an arms embargo against South Sudan.
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