The African Union has demanded that sanctions and an arms embargo be imposed on the leaders of the warring parties in South Sudan.

It says this is to stem an escalation in the country’s 17-month-old civil conflict.

In a statement, the AU’s Peace and Security Council warned that the current conflict threatens to unleash irreversible consequences.

“The people of South Sudan have already been devastated by war,” said the AU’s Peace and Security Council, warning “the current escalation threatens to unleash irreversible consequences for this young nation”.

The Council reiterated the AU’s deep disappointment over the failure to bring lasting peace to the country.

The call for sanctions by the AU was done at its meeting held in Namibia on Friday.