South Sudan talks in stalemate, deadline for deal extended

South Sudan rebel chief and former vice-president Riek Machar (R) speaks with his delegation prior to a meeting on March 3, 2015 in Addis Ababa. By Zacharias Abubeker (AFP/File)

Addis Ababa (AFP) - South Sudan's president and a rebel leader on Thursday failed to agree on ending their 15-month civil war, although mediators said talks would continue and a deadline for a deal would be extended.

President Salva Kiir and his former deputy and arch rival Riek Machar "will continue negotiations tomorrow morning," the east African regional bloc IGAD said in a brief statement.

The pair, whose armies have been at war since December 2013, were also urged "to use the limited time that remains to make progress on the outstanding issues of the mediation agenda."

IGAD, which is mediating the talks and growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of results, had set a midnight (2100 GMT) deadline for Kiir and Machar to strike a peace deal.

A failure to reach a deal could result in a wider push for targeted sanctions -- with diplomats' patience running out and the peace process having already cost well over 20 million euros ($22 million) with no nothing to show for it.

"The two sides are now under threat of sanctions and an arms embargo by the Security Council, so the pressure is increasing," a diplomat close to talks told AFP in the Ethiopian capital, where the negotiations are being held.

Hopes that the deadline would be met were dealt a blow on Thursday as Kiir and Machar pulled out of their discussions, promising to reconvene mid-afternoon but failing to keep the appointment.

"Some progress has been made on security issues, but gaps remain on the power-sharing agreement," the diplomat said.

- "Last chance" to end carnage -

IGAD chief mediator Seyoum Mesfin has called this -- the eighth round of talks -- the "last chance" for ending the conflict and diplomats had insisted there would be no extension of the deadline.

But the latest round of negotiations to solve the deadly conflict in the world's youngest nation has gone badly from the start.

Kiir and Machar shunned the opening of talks on February 23 and only met directly for the first time on Tuesday.

South Sudan's war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar, his former deputy, of planning a coup.

Fighting quickly turned ethnic with Dinka soldiers loyal to Kiir accused of massacring members of Machar's Nuer tribe in the capital Juba.

The violence spread and has been characterised by tit-for-tat ethnic murder, rape, pillage and the widespread use of child soldiers.

Tens of thousands have been killed and two million uprooted by fighting.

Peace talks were convened by IGAD within weeks of the outbreak of civil war but have only achieved a string of failed ceasefires and broken promises.

In a bid to force a deal, the United Nations this week passed a resolution that will allow the imposing of sanctions on individuals deemed to be undermining peace efforts -- including leaders or officials who obstruct peace talks, impede humanitarian aid deliveries, recruit child soldiers or attack UN peacekeepers.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told the council that the resolution -- which also raises the possibility of an arms embargo -- would give African mediators leverage in their push for agreement by making clear that "those who frustrate peace must begin to pay the price".