U.N. chief urges South Sudan's Kiir help end violence, anti-U.N. campaign

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon talks to the media after meeting European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (unseen) at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Tuesday to publicly call for an end to a "negative campaign" against U.N. peacekeepers and to bring to justice those responsible for attacks there on civilians and the United Nations.

In a phone call with Kiir, the U.N. chief called for "an immediate halt to the vicious fighting and the appalling killing of South Sudanese civilians," according to a statement from Ban's press office.