Courtesy - of - socialbarrel.com

Lawmakers and a top rights activist in the United States have urged President Obama to step up diplomatic efforts to end the crisis in South Sudan

Voice of America quotes Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey as saying at a hearing on Capitol Hill that “a phone call from President Obama to President Kiir would signal a level of interest and concern”.

Barack Obama sent a message of peace to South Sudan shortly after fighting broke out in Juba, in December, calling on the country’s warring parties to end the violence and pull the country back from the edge of civil war.

US Special Envoy to South Sudan and Sudan Donald Booth also said at the hearing, last week, that a phone call between the two heads of state was “certainly something that’s on the table”.