South Sudan has warned the UN Security Council (UNSC) against imposing further sanctions in an attempt to end nearly a year of violence in the northeastern African country.

South Sudan's UN Ambassador Francis Deng told the 15-member council on Tuesday that more sanctions would “harden positions toward confrontation rather than cooperation."

The Sudanese ambassador went on to say that the “frustration of the international community with the pace of talks... is understandable,” but the answer was not imposing sanctions.

Deng added that sanctions "hardly ever achieve their intended objective."

Washington told the Security Council three weeks ago that it was planning a sanctions regime for South Sudan, which has been engulfed in violence since last December following months of political tension between President Salva Kiir and his former vice-president, Riek Machar.

"The primary responsibility for resolving the problems of South Sudan rests squarely with it's leaders. The international community can support these efforts but cannot deliver a solution from outside," Deng said.

The Sudanese envoy told the council that “frequent adjournments” called by regional mediators were partially responsible for the slow pace of the peace talks.

Earlier this month, the latest in a series of ceasefire deals was reached between the president and his rival Machar only to be breached after a few hours.

Both sides accuse each other of breaking the new ceasefire deal.

Over 10,000 people have been killed during the conflict in South Sudan which has also forced more than 1 million people to leave their homes.