South Sudan Rivals Meet for Talks as Deadline Looms

South Sudan's warring rival leaders met face-to-face Tuesday in the latest round of peace talks to end over 14 months of conflict, just 48 hours ahead of a deadline to strike a deal.

Regional bloc IGAD has set a March 5 deadline for President Salva Kiir and rebel chief Riek Machar to reach a final peace agreement, but previous deadlines have been repeatedly missed or ignored despite the threat of sanctions.

"Very little time remains," Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said as the rivals met.

"The region and the international community will not stand by and watch a humanitarian and political crisis in South Sudan continue."

Seven previous ceasefire deals have failed, and increasingly frustrated diplomats said that while the rivals may sign another deal on paper, the issue will be enforcing it on the ground.

"I urge the leaders here to address those issues now, and be courageous in... offering compromises and alternatives, rather than only reiterating old positions," Hailemariam added.

"The region is frustrated," he said. "The consequences of a failure to find a solution will endure for years, and will only weaken South Sudan further."

Kiir and Machar earlier agreed to set up a transitional unity government to take power by July 9.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Washington would press the U.N. Security Council and international allies to take "further concerted action against those who do not demonstrate a willingness to make the difficult decisions needed for peace."

Fighting broke out in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, in December 2013 when Kiir accused his sacked deputy Machar of attempting a coup.

Over two dozen armed forces -- including government soldiers and allied militia backed by Ugandan soldiers on one side, and a range of rebel factions on the other -- have been battling it out for the last 14 months.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict, 1.5 million have been displaced and 2.5 million are in dire need of food aid in South Sudan, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011.

Later on Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to slap sanctions on South Sudan's warring factions, ratcheting up pressure as a deadline loomed to reach a peace deal.

Drafted by the United States, the resolution sets up a sanctions committee which would submit to the council the names of those responsible for blocking peace efforts, and who should be punished with a global travel ban and assets freeze.

Regional mediators have given Kiir and Machar until Thursday to end 14 months of war that have killed tens of thousands of people.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the 15-member council that the resolution would give African mediators leverage in their push for a deal by making clear that "those who frustrate peace must begin to pay the price."

The resolution was approved by all 15 council members including veto-wielding member China which had criticized the move as unhelpful at a time when the warring factions were involved in complicated negotiations.

Diplomats said the move toward sanctions won the backing of all council members after African governments, deeply frustrated with the lack of progress in peace talks, threw their support behind the measure.

Russian envoy Pyotr Ilyichev expressed skepticism, saying that the move could be "hasty" and that sanctions could backfire in the effort to bring peace.

The resolution states that those who "threaten the peace, security and stability of South Sudan" could be targeted for U.N. sanctions.

These include warring factions that obstruct peace talks, impede humanitarian aid deliveries, recruit child soldiers or attack U.N. peacekeepers.

Fighting has raged in South Sudan despite several peace deals which have never been implemented in what U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous described last week as "serious failure of leadership."

More than 1.5 million people have been displaced in the conflict and 2.5 million are in dire need of food aid in the country, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011.

At least 113,000 civilians have fled to U.N. bases for protection as government troops and fighters are accused of waging terror campaigns of rape and killing.

The resolution raises the possibility of imposing an arms embargo on South Sudan, a measure strongly backed by European countries despite concerns that the ban could penalize Kiir's forces more than the rebel fighters.