The United Nations chief is urging regional and international leaders to prevent South Sudan from falling “over the abyss” into another civil war, and to speak with one voice to support a return to peace.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a peace agreement in South Sudan was in a shambles, telling the country's leaders to put down the weapons and put all the people of South Sudan first.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned with the escalating situation in South Sudan, warning that the country is on the brink of civil war, his spokesman said on Thursday. The statement came following reports of the house arrest of South Sudanese First Vice President Riek Machar in the capital of Juba.