US says South Sudan future at risk

The Nigerian government has also condemned the bloodshed that has occurred due to political hostility between top leaders of the country.
It urged both sides of the conflict to exercise maximum restraint and have a negotiated resolution to the crisis.
In a statement from the US mission in Nigeria, Obama noted the 2011 efforts of millions of South Sudanese who voted to forge a new nation, which was founded on the promise of a more peaceful and prosperous future for all of South Sudan’s people.  
“In recent years, against great odds, South Sudan has made great progress toward breaking the cycle of violence that characterised much of its history. Today, that future is at risk.  South Sudan stands at the precipice.  Recent fighting threatens to plunge South Sudan back into the dark days of its past,” the US president said.
Fighting to settle political scores or to destabilize the government must stop immediately,” he urged.
He said South Sudan’s leaders must recognize that compromise with one’s political enemy is difficult; but recovering from unchecked violence and unleashed hatred will prove much harder.
“Too much blood has been spilled and too many lives have been lost to allow South Sudan’s moment of hope and opportunity to slip from its grasp.  Now is the time for South Sudan’s leaders to show courage and leadership, to reaffirm their commitment to peace, unity and to a better future for their people,” Obama said.
The Nigerian government also condemned the crisis in the country.
In a statement from the foreign affairs ministry said “information at our disposal reveals that some members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of South Sudan attempted to effect a regime change in Africa’s newest nation, on the sad day via a military putsch.