Johannesburg - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has added his voice to condemning the recent outbreak of violence in South Sudan.
A day after President Jacob Zuma issued a statement through the Department of International Relations, the department released a statement on Tuesday morning in which Ramaphosa expressed concern.
Ramaphosa is Zuma’s special envoy to the country and he has been involved in mediation efforts between the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the SPLA in Opposition.
Ramaphosa said: "We condemn this outbreak of violence in the strongest terms possible and call for the immediate restoration of peace in the country.
"We know, and know too well, the burden of pain and sorrow that war has brought to bear upon the majority of the people of South Sudan over the past few years.
"We call on the leadership of South Sudan to take the necessary steps to end the current conflict and to ensure the country remains on course towards the consolidation of the hard-won peace," he said.
Ramaphosa welcomed the resolution of the Extra-Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Council of Ministers in Nairobi on Monday, calling for an immediate ceasefire.
It also called on President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to "assume their responsibility and to take immediate measures to prevail upon their respective military leaders and to end the fighting".
Violence broke out in South Sudan over the same weekend as the newest country in the world marked the fifth anniversary of its independence. More than a 100 people have died in the violence.
A ceasefire was called on Monday, but the BBC reported that it wasn’t clear if the violence had stopped, as gunfire could still be heard in the capital Juba on Monday night.
