Juba, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan peace monitors on Monday called for concerted efforts among all the country's stakeholders to help shore up the peace deal.

The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) briefed a visiting delegation from the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on the political and security situation.

According to the RJMEC, the current situation in the country is risking a relapse into protracted armed conflict.

RJMEC Chief of Staff Berhanu Kebede called for "the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to prevail on the Parties to the Agreement to chart a path back to lasting peace."

"The long-suffering people of South Sudan yearn for lasting peace and security," Kebede said in a statement issued after the meeting in Juba.

He underlined the need for intensified joint and bilateral direct engagement by AUPSC, the AU High-Level Ad Hoc Committee for South Sudan, and AU leaders as guarantors of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

During the meeting, Kebede also underscored the importance of continued efforts to facilitate de-escalation and called for a return to the observance of the permanent cease-fire.

Kebede urged the parties to the peace deal to desist from all actions that escalate tensions by demonstrating leadership, ceasing unilateralism, releasing all detainees unconditionally, embracing dialogue, and returning to the inclusive implementation of the peace deal toward the path of stability and prosperity.

The AU delegation arrived in Juba on Sunday for a three-day mission to help defuse political and security tensions that threaten to derail the country's fragile 2018 peace agreement, which has sparked fears of a return to full-scale war.

The delegation's visit came as regional diplomatic efforts intensified to shore up the faltering revitalized peace deal.

Tensions between the opposition, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) under First Vice President Riek Machar and the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) escalated following a March 4 attack on the SSPDF base in Nasir, Upper Nile State by the White Army, which the government claims is allied with the SPLA-IO. ■