Following the civil war and famine ravaging South Sudan, the United Nations (UN) representative in the country has condemned the leaders by saying that they are failing their people and neglecting their duty.

According to Ceoafrica, David Shearer said the leaders seemed more interested in their own intrigues than ensuring food and medical care to the citizens.

 A bitter rivalry between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, plunged the country into civil war.

Shearer added that if not for international aid, tens of thousands or more South Sudanese would be dead.

But Mr Shearer repeated what the UN Secretary General had said on Wednesday that though there was localised fighting between ethnic groups, there was no signs yet of genocide in South Sudan.

The South Sudanese government has raised the cost of a work permit for a foreign aid worker from $100 to $10,000.

However, people in the south-western town of Yei, have been giving harrowing testimony of what they alleged, happened to them and their relatives at the hands of government soldiers.

The army denies that civilians have been targeted in the conflict.