Mediators from the African Union have arrived in South Sudan for urgent talks amid growing fears of a new civil war following the recent arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, which ended a fragile power-sharing agreement. The government of President Salva Kiir has accused Machar of attempting to ignite a new rebellion. Rights groups are urging South Sudan’s rival leaders to immediately deescalate amid mounting insecurity. This is U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “Let’s not mince words. What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people. … All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world’s newest country and one of the poorest.”