Obama calls for end to South Sudan violence

President Obama warned fighting leaders in South Sudan to negotiate their differences or risk losing U.S. support.

The president believes that clashes between warring factions – and the failed coup attempt one week ago – will “endanger the people of South Sudan and the hard-earned progress of independence,” according to a White House readout of Obama’s “updates” on the situation.

{mosads}Obama was briefed upon landing in Hawaii Saturday morning on three U.S. aircraft that were attacked in South Sudan in an attempted evacuation mission, in which four U.S. servicemen were injured.

He indicated that peaceful negotiations are the only resolution to the current conflict; and that “any effort to seize power through the use of military force will result in the end of longstanding support from the United States and the international community.”

He directed his national security team on Saturday to continue evacuating American citizens in the violence-ridden country.

He pressed his team to “ensure the safety” of military personnel, while continuing “to work with the United Nations to evacuate” Americans from the South Sudan hotspot.

The president was “pleased” that the four Americans injured in the evacuation mission remained in “stable condition.”