UN envoy: South Sudan seeing military action as rains arrive

New York - The UN envoy for South Sudan says the conflict-torn African country is seeing significant military action and the last push to position combatant forces because the rainy season has arrived and roads will soon become unpassable for about four months.

David Shearer told the UN Security Council that while the rains may bring a respite to large-scale military maneuvers, they greatly complicate the delivery of humanitarian aid and bring "the inevitable specter of cholera," with 7 700 cases already reported.

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013, and UN officials say the country is experiencing famine and ethnic cleansing and is close to genocide.

Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 1.8 million people have fled the country in what has become the world's fastest growing refugee crisis.