Kerry warns war-torn South Sudan risks genocide, famine US Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday of the risk of genocide and famine in South Sudan, brandishing the threat of sanctions against leaders of the country's warring factions. Outrage is mounting over the scale of killings in South Sudan, with both government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels backing ex-vice president Riek Machar implicated in massacres, rapes, attacks on UN bases and recruiting child soldiers. Images and soundbites.