Threat of famine, fighting loom over South Sudan: U.N. delegation

By Carlvin Odera and Drazen Jorgic JUBA (Reuters) – The risk of famine and reports of growing arms imports could bring fresh woe to South Sudan, a delegation from the U.N. Security Council warned on Tuesday, urging the state's warring leaders to resolve their differences. At least 10,000 people have been killed since fierce fighting erupted in South Sudan in December, pitting President Salva Kiir's government forces against supporters of Riek Machar, his former deputy and longtime political rival. Adding to the country's many problems, aid agencies say South Sudan could be headed for the worst famine since the mid-1980s, when malnutrition swept through East Africa and killed over a million people. "There is a grave risk of famine that now looms, that hangs over this visit," United States ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Powers told reporters, saying 50,000 children under five were at risk of dying of malnutrition in the coming months.