East African Nations Urged to Impose Arms Embargo on South Sudan

East African nations should impose an arms embargo on South Sudan where almost nine months of clashes between the army and rebels have killed thousands of people and left the country facing famine, a group of more than 30 organizations said.

The group, including 19 South Sudanese organizations, made the appeal today in a petition delivered to the seven-nation Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, that’s been mediating peace talks, London-based Amnesty International said in a statement. It asked IGAD to urge the United Nations Security Council to enforce a weapons ban.