South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar tells President Salva Kiir to resign

South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar has asked President Salva Kiir to resign, saying his term ends on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Mr Machar, who is a former vice-president, said President Kiir should step down to pave the way for elections.

South Sudan will mark its fourth independence anniversary on July 9.

Mr Machar said as of midnight Wednesday, Mr Kiir’s term would end, alongside that of the national legislature as per the provision of the Transition Constitution 2011, “thus causing the country to (fall) into a very serious constitutional crisis”.

“The term of office of State governors together with those of their respective State legislative assemblies will also have simultaneously elapsed,” he said.

The rebel leader, at the same time, said President Kiir was to blame for the killings in the world’s youngest nation.

He claimed government troops had been targeting his people.

He also claimed the African Union has delayed the release of an investigative report on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

A civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 and since then tens of thousands of people have been killed and at least 1.5 million displaced.