JUBA - The African Diplomatic Corps (ADC) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have called on parties to the South Sudan conflict to embrace dialogue and mediation to resolve escalating security challenges.

The diplomats and UNMISS officials also called for restraint and de-escalation of the tension and conflict, particularly in the states of Western Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile.

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"The ADC and UNMISS value the lives and property of citizens caught in these conflicts and urge all parties to desist from any action that will undermine civilian safety and security," they said in a joint statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Wednesday evening.

The statement came amid reports of a fresh wave of airstrikes that hit the restive town of Nasir in Upper Nile State as the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force reportedly launched another assault on the area on Wednesday.

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The airstrikes on Nasir have inflicted civilian casualties, according to the UN, adding that rampant hate speech, fueled by the proliferation of mis/disinformation in the public domain, has raised concerns that the conflict could assume an ethnic dimension.

Amid rising tension between President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-In-Opposition said on Monday it was withdrawing participation in some of the key security mechanisms until the government releases their detained members.

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The African diplomats and UN mission lauded the public statement made by Kiir to avoid a return to war and urged the unity government to take prompt action to prevent a relapse into violence.