UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is demanding an immediate end to all fighting in South Sudan and is pushing for swift progress by the government to ensure that delayed elections are held peacefully and freely in December 2024. A council resolution on South Sudan approved Wednesday also extended the more than 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission there until March 15, 2024. The resolution expresses concern at the ongoing humanitarian crisis with 9.4 million people needing assistance. Oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. Then the country slid into civil war, which ended with a 2018 peace agreement that remains only partially implemented.
