JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar is warning that the country could return to civil war if a coalition government is formed by a Nov. 12 deadline and he is seeking another months-long delay.
Machar made an impassioned plea to a visiting United Nations Security Council delegation that met with him and President Salva Kiir to urge speedier progress in pulling the country out of a five-year civil war.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Kelly Craft, said the council was "disappointed" by Machar's warning that a year-old ceasefire could collapse.
South Sudan government spokesman Michael Makuei says the Security Council wants the Nov. 12 deadline met.
The previous attempt at Kiir and Machar sharing power ended in renewed fighting and Machar fleeing the country on foot in 2016.