A joint consultative meeting of the World Council of Churches and the All Africa Council of Churches has vowed to step up efforts to work for peace in South Sudan.

At a two-day meeting that ended in Addis Ababa yesterday, they resolved to send church leaders from the Horn of Africa to meet with President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar to appeal for peace.

“The main objective is to meet with the leaders of the two fighting groups and civil representatives based on the statement: ‘Let’s return to God and confess our sins’,” said Abuna Matthias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

On his part, the chairperson of the South Sudan Council of Churches, Reverend Peter Gai Lual, said ‘genuine’ discussions in the next round of talks could bring peace to South Sudan.

“Even if we can see the impasse last month when there was no headway; we think that another time there will be headway. And it is this time round,” Reverend Lual said.

“That is why we are here to consult with our ecumenical brothers, ecumenical partners to have one voice so that we can go and challenge the two principals to come back and sincerely talk about peace that will be a genuine peace for South Sudanese.”

The church will also visit neighboring countries to try to influence leaders to help end the South Sudan crisis.

The next round of peace talks is expected to begin this weekend.