Addis Ababa, 28 Jul - (ANA) - South Sudan's warring factions may face further international pressure if they do not reach a peace deal by Aug. 17, US President Barack Obama said on Monday, convening east African leaders for urgent talks in neighbouring Ethiopia. Options discussed by those leaders ranged from applying new sanctions to sending in a "regional intervention force," a US official told reporters after the meeting. Obama, who is in Ethiopia on a two-nation Africa tour, convened the talks in Addis Ababa to discuss the conflict raging between President Salva Kiir's government and rebels commanded by Riek Machar. The group of leaders from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and the African Union agreed on the urgency of the situation but did not reach a consensus on what to do if the deadline comes and goes as others have done, the US official said. "If we don't see a breakthrough by the 17th, then we have to consider what other tools we have to apply greater pressure on the parties," Obama told a news conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who has hosted peace talks. "The possibilities of renewed conflict in a region that has been torn by conflict for so long, and has resulted in so many deaths, is something that requires urgent attention from all of us," Obama said. "We don't have a lot of time to wait." The South Sudanese government responded by saying additional sanctions could harm the peace process. Ateny Wek Ateny, a spokesman for Kiir, told Reuters: "What we need from the international community is support, so if more measures come it will jeopardise the chances of the people of South Sudan". Rebel spokesman James Gatdet welcomed Obama's comments and urged the government to tackle key obstacles, saying "peace is possible". The option of a regional force was not proposed by the United States, according to Obama administration officials who said such a force could be used to implement a peace deal if one were reached. The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on individual commanders from both sides. They could increase those sanctions with or separately from partner countries in the region. (ANA)

FA/ANA/28 July 2015--------