[Lambeth Palace] Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for the leaders in South Sudan to cease hostilities immediately and accept mediation.

Welby also appealed to all those close to the leaders to seek to persuade them to accept such urgent mediation. Those who will suffer most are the poorest, especially women and children. Those who pursue violence will face the judgement of God in answer to the cries of the souls of those whose death they have caused.

“They can still turn back: with our voices and our prayers to Jesus the Prince of Peace, let us call on them to do so,” Welby

The Archbishop has visited South Sudan over the past two and a half years and seen for himself areas where the war had struck and the heartbreaking suffering of the people. The failure of the leaders is clear.