US president, Barrack Obama is in the Ethiopian Capital, Addis Ababa to discuss with regional leaders a plan B for peace in South Sudan.

A senior US official told reporters during Obama’s flight from Nairobi to Addis Ababa yesterday that the meeting may include plans to impose more sanctions on those who obstruct peace.

“This is an opportunity to reinforce the effort that’s on the table and to strategize … on next steps in the event that it doesn’t succeed,” the official said.

She said these could be implemented with other countries in the region, the European Union or the United Nations, if a final peace deal is not reached by mid-August.

The UN Security Council has already sanctioned four military leaders on both sides of the conflict over their roles in the violence.

The US official said an arms embargo on South Sudan will also be considered.

The presidents of Uganda and Kenya, the prime minister of Ethiopia, the chairwoman of the African Union and the foreign minister of Sudan are all expected to attend the meeting.