United States hits South Sudanese officials with sanctions

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former vice president and rebel leader Riek Machar stand before their meeting about an attempt to form a unity government, in Juba, South Sudan December 11, 2019.

The United States has imposed sanctions on two senior South Sudanese officials it accuses of fomenting conflict, the US Treasury Department said on Monday, in its latest move to pressure the country’s politicians to form a unity government.

Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomuro and Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs Kuol Manyang Juuk were blacklisted for their role in perpetuating the conflict by obstructing the peace process, the Treasury said in a statement.