UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 22 - A UN envoy on Wednesday called on the international community to help push for peace talks between the warring parties in South Sudan, stressing that "the untold suffering of the people of South Sudan must stop."

"There is no alternative to silencing the guns and concluding without further delay a comprehensive peace agreement in order to return the country towards the path of peace and stability," said Ellen Loj, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS).

At an opening meeting of the UN Security Council, Loj said that after six weeks in South Sudan, she was convinced that every day without a political agreement contributes to a further deterioration of the situation.

"Since I've been on the ground, I have been shocked by the complete disregard for human life. Those responsible for committing atrocities and human rights violations must be held to account and face justice," she said. Loj was named as UN top envoy in South Sudan in July, succeeding Hilde Johnson who completed her three-year assignment.

Loj called on the Security Council, regional leaders and all friends of South Sudan to remain fully engaged with the warring parties to help promote peace process, urging that "peace cannot be delayed even for one more day."

About 100,000 internally displaced people are still taking shelter at several UN bases throughout the country, she said, adding that the peacekeeping mission is also making every effort to protect more vulnerable civilians.

Zainab Bangura, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict also briefed the Security Council after her recent visit to South Sudan.

"Since the crisis, sexual violence has reached an alarming level, expressed in a vicious cycle of retribution and revenge. I am gravely concerned about the ethnic dimension manifested particularly in the reprisal between Dinka and Nuer communities. Across the country, women live in poor conditions. They have little or no access to medical services, let alone to justice," said Bangura.

Tensions within South Sudan developed into open conflict on Dec. 15, 2013 when President Salva Kiir's government said soldiers loyal to former deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed in July, launched an attempted coup.

The full-fledged conflict in the country has claimed thousands of lives, displaced some 1.8 million people and left over 7 million people at risk of hunger and diseases.