Juba (AFP) - At least 49 people were killed and more than 50 wounded by rebels in South Sudan's troubled Jonglei state, the government said Monday, the latest violence in a long-running insurgency.

Women and children were abducted and three villages torched by fighters loyal to David Yau Yau, a rebel commander fighting government troops, said Minister of Information Michael Makuei.

No independent confirmation was immediately available.

The attack took place around dawn on Sunday in eastern Jonglei state's Twic East county, he said.

"Yau Yau forces attacked Twic East ... the number of the dead declared now is 49 and the injured is 53," he told AFP.

"They've stolen thousands of cattle, and they've burnt three villages to the ground... they have also abducted women and children."

Troops have been sent to the remote area, he added, but heavy flooding and a lack of roads is hampering their efforts.

South Sudan's rebel-turned-official army has been fighting in the region to crush a rebellion led by Yau Yau, who comes from the Murle people, since 2010.

JUBA, South Sudan October 23, 2013 (AP)

Leaders in South Sudan say the civilian death toll from a weekend attack in a remote part of the country has risen from 41 to 79.

Officials say the Sunday attack was carried out by rebels loyal to militia leader David Yau Yau, who has denied his forces were involved.

Twic East County Commissioner Dau Akoi Jurkuch said Wednesday that the death toll has risen to 79 and the number of wounded stands at 87. Diing Akol, a top Jonglei official, said dead bodies of rebels confirm Yau Yau fighters were involved.

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of supporting Yau Yau in order to sabotage plans to build an oil pipeline through Ethiopia to the Port of Djibouti and block plans to explore for oil in Jonglei state.

The Guardian

Global support can help to build resilience to recurring shocks and stresses – and could relieve suffering for good.

Resilience is the buzzword of the moment in humanitarian circles, usually referring to the ability of an individual or institution to absorb stresses and recover from shocks. There are good reasons why resilience is in the spotlight: many emergency needs stem from chronic situations, not sudden crises.

Between 2000 and 2009, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territories were among the top 10 recipients of international humanitarian assistance (pdf). By and large, the same people in the world need emergency aid, year after year.

Building communities' resilience to recurring shocks and stresses holds the promise of relieving suffering for good. It is also in line with the times – with austerity squeezing aid budgets in many wealthy countries, programmes that offer an exit strategy for humanitarian action have strong appeal and, in any case, make sense.

In many ways, people in South Sudan are among the most resilient in the world. They lived through several decades of war before a peace agreement with Sudan was signed in 2005. Between 1983 and 2005, around 2 million people died and several million were displaced (pdf). In a remarkable show of determination and perseverance, the country gained its independence in July 2011.

South Sudan's resilience is also apparent in people's everyday lives. In my work as the UN's co-ordinator for development and humanitarian action, I travel to some of the remotest parts of the country, visiting communities affected by floods and displacement.

I recently accompanied the UK's minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, to Jonglei to listen to communities affected by violence. Though often poor and living in insecure areas, these people never strike me as victims. On the contrary, they have long-standing and often effective strategies for survival in what can be extremely inhospitable conditions. South Sudan is home to some of the largest wetlands in Africa. Moving homes and grazing grounds with the seasons and adapting to changes in the environment is a normal part of life.

So how can aid organisations help South Sudanese people become even more resilient? I see our role as threefold. First, we need to provide a safety net that catches people when their own coping mechanisms break down.

Half of South Sudan's population – about 6 million people – live below the national poverty threshold of about £10 per month. For these people, it takes little to tip into destitution. An unexpected crop pest, loss of cattle, or the illness of a family member can topple a household's ability to provide for itself.

Ensuring access to basic services – free vaccinations, clean water, proper sanitation – reduces vulnerability to these shocks and helps families maintain a minimum quality of life in the midst of shocks to their livelihoods. Giving people in need shelter, blankets and food for their children is also part of this support. Until South Sudan's state institutions grow stronger and are present across the country, this work will continue to fall largely on the shoulders of aid agencies.

The second role is to help people in a way that allows them to bounce back from adversity as quickly as possible. One of the best examples of this is to address hunger by giving families seeds and tools for farming instead of, or in the short-term together with, food assistance.

South Sudan has enormous agricultural potential and the highest number of livestock per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet only 4% of arable land is cultivated, and the commercial use of cattle is much lower than in neighbouring countries. We should seize every opportunity to empower people to make the most of the country's potential and create better lives for themselves and their communities. This approach involves oxen and ploughs rather than tractors and expensive mechanised equipment. Simple, tried and tested methods will have the greatest impact.

The third way to bolster resilience is to help prevent shocks. Here aid agencies can bring expertise and experience from other countries that suffer from recurring natural disasters and have national risk management strategies in place. Between 200,000 and 300,000 people are affected by floods in South Sudan every year. This number could drop dramatically with effective mitigation measures in place, such as helping people move to higher ground, or building dykes and canals in flood zones.

This week the humanitarian community in South Sudan launches its appeal to donors for humanitarian action in 2014-2016. More than 100 aid organisations need $1.1bn for programmes to help 3.1 million people in 2014. Our appeal has three objectives: to respond to immediate life-saving needs; to build communities' resilience; and to strengthen national systems for delivering basic services.

By reinforcing our focus on capacity building, we reaffirm that caring for people in need is ultimately the role of state institutions. We will do everything we can to help those institutions assume their responsibility; recognising that humanitarian action is one component of the international community's broader support for South Sudan's journey out of fragility.

Our strategy is aligned with the concepts of the new deal for engagement in fragile states, an important framework for aid in countries recovering from crisis. The new deal is founded on the idea of national ownership and on a relationship between fragile countries and their donors based on trust and mutually agreed goals. Basing our emergency appeal on these principles is especially important as, for now, humanitarian assistance represents about half of all international aid to South Sudan.

People in South Sudan do not need lessons in resilience, but they do need the world's solidarity and support. Our job is to ensure that every dollar spent on aid makes a difference. That is best done by helping people help themselves.

Toby Lanzer is the UN development and humanitarian co-ordinator in South Sudan

By Machar Dau Yuang

I would like to write about the surprising, huge and tragic death toll recorded of people who lost their lives in the attack of both villages of Paliau and Maar in the area of Twic East County from Jonglei State.

We the Nation mourn together and we condemn these events and hope that they do not occur again. We require the South Sudan Government to strongly stand behind these areas to help, support and protect the lives of civilians. We want to stay safe at all times without being subjected to such invasions.

We require the Government to perform its duty of care and to care about its people. These events were happening when I was in Malou suburb in Jonglei state. It was very sad, surprising and shocking to hear that this invasion was happening in my area.  What I would like to say is the following: I say that the State Government and Federal Government must provide adequate security to protect those areas.

Twic East County in particular, is at risk of insecurity. The population of this area are constantly being subjected to violence by the Leader of Rebels, David YauYau, the man who fought the war without vision and had caused the loss of lives of innocent civilians. These are the people who made him the leader. Without these people he could not have been leader and this invasion that devastated the areas and burned both villages and shelter, including a church
that was burned to ash, would not have happened.

The citizens of this area were evacuated, and after that they faced the hardship of being confronted at gun point and this caused a lot of grief and  the death of many innocent people. The people were starved due to rations running short. We, the Twic youth from  Victoria Australia , our blame goes directly
to the elders of Twic East County and their administration work, including that
done by an MP from this area, for provoking the Government of South Sudan to start  disarmament in our area and the personal equipment of civilians were removal and they remain with nothing to defend themselves with.

This is a breach of Safety Regulations and human rights have been violated. There is no government intervention to support the local population. I know Twic East have been lectured by our good pretender, try to present a good
image to the president and seek employment through lecturing about us to the
president  saying that we are doing wrong against the president and leadership of South Sudan. This allegation has been spread around and the rights of many people is not being well represented in the parliament.

After this they reserved so many seats in the parliament by having huge numbers of their people representing them, while we the Twic community feel
isolated from any formation of Government. No one has been appointed to
represented us in the National Government. We don’t feel surprise about this
step taken by the Kiir Administration.  We do encourage him and give him the green light to go ahead. We are not against Kiir’s leadership and the roles. If you hear these allegations, don’t listen to them. We like the peaceful community of South Sudan.

We always organized ourselves to act honest in the peaceful environment and let everybody stay positive without verbal threat to anyone among us. We are passionate about South Sudan. Our neighbors are always against us. This has become a natural behavior to them but we don’t copy this act as the Twic always ignored the propaganda. We would like this stable government of
The Republic of South Sudan to work for all of us without isolating one
community among Southerners. All our ideas together can bring change and build a better South Sudan.

We encourage fusion together and unity we always supported so that we can overcome any external barrier against our nation. We still remember that our Referendum was determined that we were cast our vote for segregated South Sudan from North that we bring freedom here to South by voting for independent of South Sudan. It was not achieved through Military force. It is our struggling for ballot paper to cast it into boxes that separated South
Sudan from slavery of Arabilization.

We like to govern ourselves and show the rest of the world our social responsibility that should be respected and our rights are considered by the international community to tabled the break through via their commitment to bring peace to the table between North and South to end the civil war in the torn zone of the Sudan.

My campaign today is attempting to highlight the important ideas to help and support our Government. When we stand together in unity and listen to each other without undermining each other we can do something good in the
future. Some of our members are thinking positive. Below will show you and
convince you to work hard for all of us.

We need Government to have a strong strategy for the creation of more job opportunities, to engage this innovation juvenile away from domestic violence, more chance to bring good infrastructure to the new Nation. If the huge numbers of people are educated there will more elimination of the hazard war of tribalism among ethnic community of the South Sudan.

We must desire every community to make sure that they are well represented by their elected minister and MPs. We also want Government to employ many
psychologists and experts to provide good services to the people of South Sudan because the war became indulged in peoples minds after 21 years of struggling.

We need our oil resources income to develop our younger Nation so that we catch up for redevelopment compared to the rest of our neighboring countries. I proudly appreciate your energetic heart and your handling of the conflict for 21 years of civil war without defection from your colleagues the founder of the ruling South Sudan SPLM Party, Dr. Garang, and you stayed positive without making the surprising trip to Khartoum during this revolution. There is no leader like you but I want you to equalize every community, treating everybody equal and I encourage a quality system in South Sudan to remove any errors.

This is a time for you to govern this Nation in respect of energetic man and be your reward for wonderful strong at heart through your intelligence and hard work signing the CPA documents.

In conclusion, I discourage conflict of interest among communities from South Sudan and the thought of division. This is bad politics and can bring war and slide South Sudan back into tribalism and war. Telling the citizens to avoided bad politics from their diverse and mixed society to the Government and assassinations that subjected outstanding writers to the list of victim of crime is not good there should be freedom of expression and freedom for citizens to publish their ideas, both in that print and on the internet.

The challenge to the Government is to encourage Government to do something tangible for developing the country and we would like your responsible care for your civilians. We don’t want huge numbers of deaths of innocent people to be recorded again. The attacks launched by David YauYau are the responsibility of the Government.

We don’t want to have to stress anymore about invasion and fear for the loss of
the lives of innocent citizens. I am among those District Safety Work Groups
working with Brimbank City Council in Melbourne, Victoria,  Australia. Also I represent The Twic Youth Association of Victoria Inc. as the Deputy to the Chairperson of this nonprofit organization. I like a peaceful community without war because war is not the answer and will never produce a good outcome for the citizens of South Sudan.

BBC

South Sudanese rebels have taken over a key town, the military has said, as fighting continues after Sunday's reported coup attempt.

"Our soldiers have lost control of Bor to the force of Riek Machar," said army spokesman Philip Aguer.

President Salva Kiir has accused Mr Machar, the former vice-president, of staging a coup - a claim he denies.

The unrest, which began in the capital Juba, has already killed 500 people and sparked fears of a civil war.

The United Nations has called for political dialogue to end the crisis, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said about 20,000 people had taken refuge in UN compounds in Juba.

Britain and the US have both sent planes to airlift their nationals out of the country, and a US defence official described the situation as "getting ugly".

Since independence, several groups have taken up arms against the South Sudanese government. It is not clear if any of these groups were involved in the capture of Bor.

Gun battles

On Wednesday the mayor of Bor, Nicholas Nhial Majak, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that violence had spread there from Juba, 200km (125 miles) away. 

Bor is the capital of Jonglei state, and is seen as one of the most volatile areas of South Sudan.

Overnight there were reports of gun battles in the town, as renegade officers fought with troops still loyal to the president.

"There was shooting last night...we don't have information on casualties or the displaced in the town, as operations are ongoing," Mr Aguer told reporters.

But he added that the town's authorities were not answering their phones and were believed to have defected to the rebels' side.

Tensions are also said to be high in the states of Unity and Upper Nile, but in Juba - where the violence started - the situation appears to be calmer, with Mr Aguer saying "the streets are busy and shops are open". 

President Salva Kiir has blamed the violence on a group of soldiers who support Mr Machar, saying they tried to take power by force on Sunday night.

But Mr Machar denied allegations that he had tried to stage a coup, telling the BBC: "Salva wanted to frame me. I had to flee. They are hunting me down."

He blamed Sunday's fighting on a conflict between members of the presidential guard, and added that government troops had used the incident to arrest some of his supporters.

The UN has expressed fears of a civil war between the two main ethnic bodies, the Dinka - Mr Kiir's group - and the Nuer, from which Mr Machar hails.

But presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny played down the prospect of civil conflict, telling the BBC that while it was likely that civilians had been caught in the fighting, no-one was "targeting ethnic groups".

South Sudan has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent from Sudan in 2011.

The oil-rich country remains ethnically and politically divided, with many armed groups active.

After a peace deal was signed in 2005, Mr Machar was appointed vice-president of the South Sudan regional government.

He retained the position after independence in 2011 but was dropped in July when the whole cabinet was sacked.

By Barbara Starr and Jason Hanna, CNN

(CNN) -- Four U.S. service members who were about to help evacuate Americans from violence-hit South Sudan were injured when gunfire hit their aircraft as they prepared to land in Bor on Saturday, the Pentagon said.

The attack thwarted the evacuation attempt, and the three CV-22 Osprey were diverted to Uganda, where a different aircraft received the wounded troops for transfer to Kenya for medical treatment, Africa Command said in a written statement.

Details about their injuries weren't immediately available. The four were treated and in stable condition, according to the AFRICOM statement.

After the incident, the Pentagon was trying to determine how to retry the evacuations of roughly three dozen Americans from South Sudan, where they were working for the United Nations, a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagal is "keeping close tabs on the situation," Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said. Hagal is "reviewing options on how to move forward," Kirby said. Adding "whatever we do it will be in coordination with the State Department."

Coup attempt and violence

The evacuation attempt came after days of deadly clashes in South Sudan, including a reported coup attempt in the capital, Juba, last weekend. Bor also has been the site of heavy fighting, the U.S. official said.

The violence prompted the United States and other nations to take steps to protect their citizens. U.S. President Barack Obama had sent 45 service members to South Sudan to support U.S. personnel and the American Embassy; the government of neighboring Kenya said it would send troops to help evacuate 1,600 Kenyan citizens.

Up to 100,000 people have been displaced by the fighting so far. Many of the displaced people have crossed the Nile River, he said, adding that he feared a humanitarian disaster was unfolding.

Details of attack

The U.S. troops were getting ready to land in Bor when gunfire from the ground hit the aircraft, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

The Osprey that was most severely damaged was believed to have been hit in the fuel line, according to a the military official who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

All three aircraft were diverted to Entebbe, Uganda, which is not where their flights originated, the official said. Another aircraft then flew the wounded to Nairobi, Kenya, where they were treated, AFRICOM said in a statement.

Tensions rose after president sacked Cabinet in July

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir blamed soldiers loyal to his former vice president, Riek Machar, for starting this month's violence.

Tensions have been high in South Sudan -- which became the world's newest country when it split from Sudan two years ago -- since Kiir dismissed Machar and the rest of the Cabinet in July. The move inflamed deep tensions between Kiir's Dinka community and Machar's Nuer community.

Casualties are in the hundreds, including soldiers, the government said.

U.S. said Friday it was sending envoy

A day before Saturday's aborted evacuation attempt, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he was sending a special envoy -- Ambassador Donald Booth -- to South Sudan.

"Now is the time for South Sudan's leaders to rein in armed groups under their control, immediately cease attacks on civilians, and end the chain of retributive violence between different ethnic and political groups," Kerry said in a statement. "The violence must stop, the dialogue must intensify."

Also on Friday, U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice recorded an audio message to the South Sudanese people.

"I ask each of you to make the choice for peace -- make the choice for a unified and cohesive South Sudan," she said. "Make this choice for yourselves and your children."

Indian peacekeepers, civilians killed in Thursday attack at U.N. base

Saturday's violence wasn't the first to harm foreign troops in South Sudan this week. Attackers killed two Indian army peacekeepers, wounded a third in the chest, and killed at least two refuge-seeking civilians in an assault on the United Nations' Akobo base Thursday, the U.N. said.

As many as 20 of the 30 civilians seeking refuge there might have been killed, U.N. officials estimated.

South Sudan became the world's newest country in July 2011 when it gained independence from Sudan.

The split happened after a 2005 peace agreement ended years of civil war between the largely Animist and Christian south and the Muslim-dominated north. The deal led to a January 2011 referendum in which people of the south voted to secede from Sudan.

CNN's Mading Ngor, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Zain Verjee and Clare Hayes contributed to this report.

December 21, 2013 (HONOLULU) -- President Barack Obama said Saturday that continued violence and militancy in South Sudan would cost the world's newest country the support of the United States and other nations.

Obama said South Sudan's leaders have a responsibility to help protect Americans, who came under fire hours earlier during an evacuation attempt.

While vacationing in Hawaii, Obama spoke by telephone with national security aides, the White House said. He told his team to work with the U.N. to keep evacuating Americans from Bor, where some of South Sudan's worst violence over the last week has played out.

Among those briefing the president was his national security adviser, Susan Rice, who a day earlier recorded an audio message to South Sudan's leaders urging them not to allow the nation "to be torn apart by violence and suffering."

"This conflict can only be resolved peacefully through negotiations," the White House said in a statement Saturday. "Any effort to seize power through the use of military force will result in the end of longstanding support from the United States and the international community."

Secretary of State John Kerry called President Salva Kiir to urge the South Sudanese leader to avoid ethnic conflict, preserve the welfare of those fleeing the conflict and protect U.S. citizens there. Kerry was sending a special envoy to the region and told Kiir that South Sudan's challenges require leadership and political dialogue, the State Department said.

The U.S. has been working to evacuate American citizens and nonemergency government personnel from the African country, and last week shut down most embassy operations in the capital of Juba after what South Sudan's president described as an attempted coup.

On Saturday, gunfire hit three U.S. military aircraft trying to evacuate Americans in a remote region that has become a battle ground between the country's military and renegade troops, officials said. The three CV-22 Ospreys were about to land in Bor when they were hit and subsequently diverted to Entebbe, Uganda.

Four U.S. troops wounded in that incident are in stable condition, the White House said.

The violence has killed hundreds and has world leaders worried that a full-blown civil war could ignite in South Sudan. The South fought a decades-long war with Sudan before a 2005 peace deal resulted in a 2011 referendum that saw South Sudan break away from the North, taking most of the region's oil wealth with it.

In the call with U.S. officials, Obama directed his team to keep him abreast of developments in South Sudan. Even when on vacation, the president travels with senior-level national security aides who keep in close contact with Washington and brief him regularly on issues of concern.

"The president underscored the urgency of helping to support efforts to resolve the differences within South Sudan through dialogue," the White House said. "South Sudan's leaders must know that continued violence will endanger the people of South Sudan and the hard-earned progress of independence."

BBC News

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says his forces have recaptured the key town of Bor, days after it was seized by rebels in a week-long conflict.

Forces loyal to Mr Kiir's ex-deputy Riek Machar were "on the run", the information minister said. The rebels have not commented on the claim.

There has been a week of fighting amid a struggle between Mr Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Mr Machar, of the Nuer.

The UN earlier said that it had reports of at least three mass graves.

It said there was "palpable fear" among civilians that they would be killed on the basis of their ethnicity.

President Kiir told journalists in the capital, Juba: "Forces loyal to the government have taken Bor and are now clearing whatever forces that are remaining there."

Information Minister Michael Makwei told Agence France Presse: "The army captured Bor around sunset and the rebel forces are now on the run... We are back in control."

Bor had been one of the major successes for the rebels. They are believed to still be in control of Bentiu, the capital of the oil-producing Unity State.

Bor is 200km (125 miles) north of Juba.

Some 17,000 civilians had sought refuge in a UN camp in Bor after the rebels took over.

UN officials say at least 80,000 people have been displaced by the South Sudan crisis - about half of them seeking shelter at a number of UN bases.

James Copnall BBC News, Juba

The UN has expressed concerns about thousands of South Sudanese youths - loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar - marching on the strategic town of Bor.

Armed with machetes and sticks, the "wildcard" group does not have military training, a UN spokesman told the BBC.

The UN is organising surveillance flights to ascertain the group's size, added the spokesman, Joe Contreras.

At least 1,000 people have died in this month's fighting. More than 121,600 are believed to have fled their homes.

Tens of thousands of civilians have sought refuge in UN camps and reinforcements have been arriving to give them extra protection.

The government has offered a ceasefire, but the army says its forces are still battling over oilfields in the north.

What began as a power struggle between Mr Machar and President Salva Kiir has taken on overtones of a tribal conflict. The Dinka, to which Mr Kiir belongs, are pitted against the Nuer, from which Mr Machar hails.

'Ratchet up the conflict'

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

James Copnall BBC News, Juba

---

The White Army is a name that inspires fear in South Sudan.

This loose grouping of armed youth from the Nuer ethnic group was at least partly responsible for the 1991 Bor massacre, in which at least 2,000 people were killed. Then, the White Army fought alongside Riek Machar, who had split away from the main southern Sudanese rebel group fighting Khartoum.

In 2011 and 2012 a new incarnation of the White Army went on the rampage, killing hundreds of civilians from the Murle ethnic group. At the time, Mr Machar was vice president - and although he travelled to meet them, he was unable to stop their advance.

Now the South Sudanese government says thousands of White Army members are marching on Bor - under Mr Machar's command. This is an explosive claim - particularly as Mr Machar is under international pressure to stop fighting and begin negotiations by the end of the year.

Government troops are currently in control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state they had taken from the rebels.

The group reportedly marching on the town are part of an ethnic Nuer militia known as the White Army because of the white ash they put on their skin to protect them from insects.

South Sudanese government spokesmen have been quoted as saying it numbers as many as 25,000 armed men and answers to the former vice-president, but these details have not been confirmed.

The White Army seems sympathetic to Mr Machar, but does not appear to be acting on his direct orders, said Joe Contreras, a spokesman for the UN Mission in South Sudan, who described the group as "a volatile and unpredictable ingredient" to the unrest in South Sudan.

"They do not have a military background or the discipline that you would associate with military who have been fighting under the banner of the former vice-president since this crisis began," he told the BBC's World Service.

"They are a wildcard whose intervention in the theatre of conflict outside Bor could ratchet up the conflict even further and also put at even greater risk the lives of innocent civilians."

Mr Machar was deputy president until Mr Kiir sacked him in July. 

Earlier this month fighting broke out between rival army factions after Mr Kiir accused Mr Machar of trying to unseat him in a coup.

Mr Machar said on Friday his forces were in control of the whole of the states of Jonglei and Unity, apart from Bor.

He said he had a negotiating team ready but any ceasefire had to be credible, properly monitored and preceded by the release of 11 detainees accused of being co-conspirators in the coup plan.

Mr Kiir has refused to accept any preconditions for a ceasefire.

By Carl Odera and Aaron Maasho

(Reuters) - South Sudan's army fought on Sunday with "White Army" ethnic militia, accusing rebels of mobilizing the force despite its offer of a truce to end the conflict in the new country.

Two weeks of fighting have left at least 1,000 dead and split the oil-producing country barely two years after it won independence from Sudan. It has also raised fears of an all-out civil war between the main Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups which could destabilize fragile East Africa.

The feared White Army - made up largely of Nuer youths who dust their bodies with ash - clashed with government troops 18 miles from the town of Bor five days after rebels were driven out, Information Minister Michael Makuei said.

A rebel spokesman denied the White Army was controlled by Riek Machar, a Nuer, the former vice president whose followers oppose President Salva Kiir, a Dinka.

Makuei told Reuters on Sunday the White Army militia had dwindled in numbers - from estimated 25,000 strong - after Nuer politicians and tribal elders persuaded them to abandoned their march on Bor.

"About 5,000 refused to abandon the march and they have proceeded with their advance on Bor. They then dislodged (government troops) from Mathiang, about 18 miles from Bor," Makuei said by phone from South Sudan's capital, Juba, 190 km (120 miles) south of Bor by road.

The White Army are recognized by the ash, prepared from burnt cow dung, with which they cover themselves to ward off insects. They are armed with machetes, sticks and guns.

Rebel spokesman Moses Ruai Lat said that rather than being under Machar's control, the armed Nuer youth were an "independently organized force".

Army spokesman Philip Aguer said the rebels were mobilizing youths and armed civilians for another attack on Malakal, the capital of the oil-producing Upper Nile state. Rebels were pushed out of the town on Friday.

Toby Lanzer, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, told Reuters by phone from Malakal that about 25,000 people are seeking refuge in the town's U.N. base. He said streets were empty and the town's busy market had been looted.

"There is palpable sense of fear among people who have either lost everything or been caught in the crossfire, or who simply don't feel safe enough to be home," Lanzer said, adding that the U.N. estimates at least 180,000 people have been displaced during the 15 days of fighting in South Sudan.

U.N. WORRIED

The United Nations said the involvement of the White Army brought another volatile ingredient.

"South Sudan does not need another escalation of the crisis involving armed youth, pitching communities against communities. This can end in a vicious cycle of violence," U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary General Hilde Johnson, said in a statement.

Machar made no immediate comment on the rebel force or on the government's offer of a ceasefire on Friday.

Witnesses spoke of panicked civilians fleeing Bor to escape another round of bloodletting.

The scene of a massacre of Dinka in 1991 by Nuer fighters loyal to Machar, Bor was retaken by government troops last Tuesday after several days of heavy fighting.

If there were a repeat of the tactics of 1991, "nothing will prevent devastation", Aguer said, appealing to Machar to stop the youths.

A U.N. helicopter spotted a group of armed youths 50 km (30 miles) from Bor but could not confirm their numbers.

The army said rebels also advanced on Sunday to seize Mayom, a strategic town some 90 km (55 miles) from Unity state capital Bentiu, the main rebel stronghold.

Among the civilians trying to escape Bor was Juuk Mading.

"We are very scared," Mading, a father of four, said from a crowded river jetty as he waited in the fierce heat for a boat to cross the White Nile river to a neighboring state.

Some 60,000 people are seeking refuge in U.N. bases across South Sudan.

As well as offering a truce, President Kiir's government said it would release eight of 11 senior politicians, widely seen to be Machar allies, arrested over an alleged coup plot against Kiir.

(Additional reporting and writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

The BBC's James Copnall

There are conflicting reports from South Sudan where youths loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar are said to be marching on the strategic town of Bor.

In an interview with the BBC, a spokesman for President Salva Kiir denied earlier reports that most of the youths had been persuaded to go home.

Instead, Ateny Wek Ateng said the group had clashed with government forces.

At least 1,000 people have died in this month's fighting. More than 121,600 are believed to have fled their homes.

A UN surveillance flight earlier located the group of youths 50km (30 miles) north-east of Bor, but did not reveal its size. 

Tens of thousands of civilians have sought refuge in UN camps, and reinforcements have been arriving to give them extra protection.

What began as a power struggle between Mr Machar and President Salva Kiir has taken on overtones of a tribal conflict. The Dinka, to which Mr Kiir belongs, are pitted against the Nuer, from which Mr Machar hails.

The government has offered a ceasefire, but the army says its forces are still battling rebels over oilfields in the north.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he had contacted President Kiir and Mr Machar "to urge them both to commit to an immediate ceasefire".

Mr Hague said he had encouraged them "to enter into negotiations immediately and without preconditions" and offered the UK's diplomatic support.

East African mediators have given both sides until Tuesday to agree a ceasefire.

'Volatile'

South Sudanese government troops are currently in control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state they took from the rebels.

The group said to be marching on the town are part of an ethnic Nuer militia known as the White Army because of the white ash they put on their skin to protect them from insects.

South Sudanese government spokesmen were quoted as saying the group numbered as many as 25,000 armed men and answers to the former vice-president, but these details have not been confirmed.

Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told the BBC on Sunday that Nuer community leaders in Jonglei state had persuaded the fighters to go home. He said only a "small group" remained.

However, presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateng later denied this claim and said clashes had taken place.

He said the youths had "ignored" calls by community leaders to abandon their march.

"They seem to be adamant because they think that if they don't come and fight, then the pride of their tribe has been put in great insult," he said.

"The majority are still moving... there's still a number of about 20,000 still moving."

He added that government forces had been deployed to Bor. 

Joe Contreras, a spokesman for the UN Mission in South Sudan, described the group of youths as "a volatile and unpredictable ingredient" to the unrest in South Sudan.

"They are a wildcard whose intervention in the theatre of conflict outside Bor could ratchet up the conflict even further."

Ceasefire

Mr Machar was deputy president until Mr Kiir sacked him in July. 

Earlier this month fighting broke out between rival armed factions after Mr Kiir accused Mr Machar of trying to unseat him in a coup.

Mr Machar said on Friday his forces were in control of the whole of the states of Jonglei and Unity, apart from Bor.

He said he had a negotiating team ready but any ceasefire had to be credible, properly monitored and preceded by the release of 11 detainees accused of being co-conspirators in the coup plan.

Mr Kiir has refused to accept any preconditions for a ceasefire.

Analysis

James Copnall BBC News, Juba

---

The White Army is a name that inspires fear in South Sudan.

This loose grouping of armed youth from the Nuer ethnic group was at least partly responsible for the 1991 Bor massacre, in which at least 2,000 people were killed.

Then, the White Army fought alongside Riek Machar, who had split away from the main southern Sudanese rebel group fighting Khartoum.

In 2011 and 2012 a new incarnation of the White Army went on the rampage, killing hundreds of civilians from the Murle ethnic group.

At the time, Mr Machar was vice president - and although he travelled to meet them, he was unable to stop their advance.

By Waakhe Simon Wudu (AFP)

Juba — South Sudanese rebels allied to ex-vice president Riek Machar sought to retake control of a key town Monday, the army said, as hopes faded that an upcoming ceasefire deadline will be obeyed in the violence-wracked nation.

United Nations peacekeepers said they were concerned over claims thousands of armed youths from Machar's Nuer tribe were readying to attack Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, amid international efforts to stop two weeks of violence spiralling into all-out civil war.

"The forces of Riek Machar are now advancing on Bor, but we are confident we will hold them off and protect the town," army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP.

"Yesterday there were heavy clashes at Gadiang north of Bor... the people in Bor are fearing an attack at any time."

Rebels were currently reported around 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of Bor.

It was not clear how many of the gunmen remained in the thick bush around Bor, but the army statement appeared to contradict claims by government spokesman Michael Makuei late on Sunday that "most of them have returned home".

Reconnaissance flights by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Sunday identified armed groups but could not confirm the force's size.

The gunmen, a loose ethnic militia force loyal to Machar and dubbed the "White Army", are heavily armed -- some carrying automatic rifles or spears, others armed with rocket propelled grenades. They are known for smearing white ash onto their bodies as war-paint and to ward off insects.

The world's youngest nation plunged into chaos on December 15 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy of mounting a coup, sparking deadly violence believed to have left thousands dead.

Ceasefire deadline Tuesday

Regional leaders at the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have set Tuesday as a deadline for face-to-face talks between Kiir and Machar.

While the government has said it was willing to observe a ceasefire, Machar -- who was sacked as vice-president in July -- has made demands including the release of his arrested political allies before committing to a truce.

South Sudanese government spokesman Makuei told AFP on Sunday: "I really doubt if we, the South Sudanese government, will be in a position to sit with Riek Machar... He has not even respected the call by IGAD and the African Union to agree to the cessation of hostilities."

Fuelled by ethnic rivalries between Kiir's Dinka group and Machar's Nuer, bloodshed has swept across the nation, with fierce battles reported in strategic oil-producing areas.

Grim reports of massacres, rapes and killings nationwide have emerged on both sides of the conflict.

Rebels swiftly took over several key regional cities including Bentiu, in the northern oil-producing state of Unity, and Bor, which was later recaptured by the army.

There was also heavy fighting in the town of Malakal, state capital of oil-producing Upper Nile, but the army said they were back in full control.

A video posted by UN humanitarian chief in South Sudan Toby Lanzer in Malakal showed burnt and looted stores and buildings in the centre of town.

"The situation in Malakal is stable, we are in control," Aguer added.

Oil production, which accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan's fledgling economy, has also been hit with oil companies evacuating employees.

The UN says some 75,000 have sought refuge in badly overstretched peacekeeper bases across the country, and over 180,000 are displaced across the country.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees are also reported to have been affected.

UN peacekeeping reinforcements began arriving in the country last week, the spearhead force of some 6,000 extra troops voted for by the UN Security Council, that will nearly double the size of the mission in the country.

UNMISS chief Hilde Johnson is to brief the UN Security Council later Monday on the crisis.

South Sudan became independent in 2011 after a civil war that killed more than two million people between 1983 and 2005.

Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

BBC News

South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar has told the BBC he will enter peace talks, claiming his forces have captured the key town of Bor.

He had previously demanded 11 detainees accused of being co-conspirators in the coup plan be freed before negotiations.

He denies there was a plot - alleged by his rival President Salva Kiir.

Uganda's president has threatened the rebels with military action if they fail to agree to a ceasefire by the end of Tuesday, and begin talks.

In a BBC interview on Monday, President Kiir ruled out any power sharing with Mr Machar to halt violence that has killed at least 1,000 people in the last two weeks.

"These men have rebelled. If you want power, you don't rebel so that you are rewarded with the power. You go through the process," he said.

Mr Kiir has consistently refused to release Mr Machar's political allies, arrested when he made the coup plot allegations.

'Big fight'

It has not been confirmed whether Bor has fallen to Mr Machar's forces - a mix of mutinous soldiers loyal to him and an ethnic militia called the "white army", known for putting white ash onto their bodies as a kind of war-paint.

A UN spokesman said the town of Bor had come under attack at day break, not far from the town's UN compound.

A South Sudanese army spokesman confirmed a "big fight" had happened.

Later, Mr Machar told the BBC he was sending a delegation to Addis Ababa for peace talks, where he will discuss a ceasefire.

He also said his delegation will be led by Rebecca Nyandeng, the widow of John Garang, who led South Sudanese rebel forces against Khartoum for many years.

The BBC's James Copnall in the capital, Juba, says as a Dinka she may help Mr Machar challenge the allegation that his rebellion is primarily from his Nuer ethnic group.

According to the AFP news agency, both parties are expected in the Ethiopian capital soon.

"Both President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar are coming to Addis Ababa for talks, they are coming now and should meet today," Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told the agency.

Talks in South Sudan's troubled history have often been preceded by renewed fighting, to allow the belligerents to go to the negotiating table in a position of strength, our reporter says. 

In recent days, thousands of people have fled from Bor, the capital of Jonglei state.

The fighting initially broke out more than two weeks ago in Juba, and has now spread to many parts of the country.

At least 1,000 people have died and more than 121,600 are believed to have fled their homes.

The UK has announced a £12.5m ($20.6m) aid package to support organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies, to provide tents, emergency health care and other supplies.

Mr Machar was President Kiir's deputy until he was sacked in July.

What began as a power struggle between the two men has taken on overtones of an ethnic conflict. The Dinka, to which Mr Kiir belongs, are pitted against the Nuer, from which Mr Machar hails.

Analysis

James Copnall BBC News, Juba

---

By sending a delegation to Addis Ababa, Riek Machar has agreed to one of the mediators' key demands - but not the other. The rebel leader told me he would not order his troops to stop fighting. This is something, he said, that can be discussed in Ethiopia.

Regional leaders had wanted a cessation of hostilities and talks to begin by the end of the year. The attack on Bor was a clear attempt by Mr Machar to show his military power, which will strengthen his hand in any negotiations.

He also said his delegation will be led by Rebecca Nyandeng, the widow of the South Sudanese hero John Garang. As a Dinka, she may help Mr Machar challenge the allegation that his rebellion is primarily from his Nuer ethnic group.

It is interesting that Mr Machar is now admitting that the "white army" - an ethnic militia - is "part of" his army. This will not do much for his popularity in many parts of South Sudan.

By Laura Smith-Spark and Antonia Mortensen, CNN

Juba, South Sudan (CNN) -- South Sudan's president declared a state of emergency Wednesday ahead of peace talks to stop the latest violence in the country.

President Salva Kiir issued the declaration for the states of Unity and Jonglei, which include the rebel-held towns of Bor and Benitu, the scene of recent fighting and scores of civilian deaths.

State radio also reported that Kiir ordered the formation of a negotiating team to take part in the peace talks in Ethiopia. The government delegation includes key opposition figures, as required in the presidential decree, state radio reported.

Representatives from the warring parties in South Sudan will arrive in Ethiopia on Wednesday for talks aimed at ending the violence wracking the nation, the United Nations' special representative to South Sudan said.

 

Hilde Johnson, who heads the U.N. mission to South Sudan, said she wanted to see both parties "take a decisive step to cease all hostilities" starting Wednesday.

"We want to make this day the day that the violence stops," she told a news conference in the South Sudanese capital, Juba.

Kiir and the rebels' leader, former Vice President Riek Machar, agreed Tuesday to send delegations to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, home of the African Union, for peace talks after two weeks of violence.

A cessation of hostilities between their forces is expected to top the agenda.

Johnson said it was too early to say if the move was a breakthrough, "but it is a step in the right direction."

The African Union has set up a group to investigate human rights abuses, Johnson said, which met for the first time Tuesday.

She stressed the need for people to be held accountable for their actions, and for a community-based reconciliation process to run alongside the peace talks.

"There has been killing and brutality, we have seen killing on ethnic grounds. We need to do everything to prevent the cycle of violence," Johnson said. "I condemn elements on both sides."

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an East African trade bloc that has been helping to mediate between the battling parties, has said an independent body is needed to monitor any cease-fire, Johnson said.

Leaders of the bloc warned Friday that they would "take action" to stop the conflict if South Sudan's warring factions didn't lay down their arms.

The spiraling violence has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the world's newest nation. About 180,000 people have been displaced nationwide by more than two weeks of conflict, Johnson said.

Peacekeepers are working to protect the camps where tens of thousands of civilians have fled, but more resources are needed, she said. She appealed for $166 million in aid to help provide families with food and other emergency relief.

Anti-government forces were not targeting U.N. bases in the country, Johnson added.

Ethnic targeting

The fighting began on December 15 after Kiir, from South Sudan's Dinka ethnic group, accused troops loyal to Machar, from the Nuer community, of trying to launch a coup. The two men have long been political rivals, and Kiir dismissed Machar, along with the Cabinet, in July.

Kiir told CNN on Monday that African nations should have acted quickly to help quell the rebel forces.

As soon as an attempted coup took place and violence broke out, "the original leaders and all African leaders should have come in with military support," so that the rebels would have been "crushed once and for all," he said.

The two sides clashed Tuesday in the key town of Bor, capital of oil-rich Jonglei state, which had already changed hands last week.

However, the situation was quiet there Wednesday, Johnson said. Fighting has also halted in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state, which may be a positive sign, she said.

United Nations forces are patrolling the streets of Juba in order to protect civilians, she said. More than 160 police officers arrived in the past three days, with an additional 240 expected Wednesday and more in the next two weeks.

The U.N. Mission to South Sudan on Tuesday voiced "grave concern over mounting evidence of gross human rights abuses in the strife-torn country, including extra-judicial killings of civilians and captured soldiers, massive displacements and arbitrary detentions, often on ethnic grounds."

Its statement cited the discovery of large numbers of bodies in Juba, as well as in Malakal and Bor.

"Available evidence indicates that atrocities are continuing to occur in various parts of South Sudan," it said. "Many of these violations appear to be ethnically targeted. Most of the more brutal atrocities are reported to have been carried out by people wearing uniform."

South Sudan formally split from Sudan in 2011 after a referendum, following decades of conflict. Numerous armed groups remain active in the oil-rich country.

CNN's Antonia Mortensen reported from Juba and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Arwa Damon contributed to this report.

BBC News

Watch Video

A South Sudanese army general has been killed in fighting outside the rebel-held town of Bor.

A BBC correspondent with government troops said a convoy advancing on Bor came under heavy fire in an ambush.

The fighting is continuing as the warring parties meet in Ethiopia to try to agree a ceasefire. Substantive talks appear to have been once again delayed.

The conflict pits supporters of President Salva Kiir against rebels led by his sacked deputy Riek Machar.

It began on 15 December after the president accused Mr Machar of attempting a coup - which he denies.

At least 1,000 people have been killed and nearly 200,000 displaced in the conflict, which has taken on ethnic undertones. Mr Kiir is from the Dinka community and Mr Machar from the Nuer group.

'Arm twisting'

The BBC's Alastair Leithead was travelling with government troops from the capital, Juba, on Sunday when the convoy came under attack about 25km (15 miles) from Bor. 

The commanding general - who has not been named - was killed in the ambush.

The government has been sending reinforcements to try to retake Bor in recent days, bringing the total number of army troops involved to some 2,000.

A whole division of the South Sudanese army has joined the rebel side, so the fighting in Bor in effect involves two trained armies, our correspondent adds.

He says he saw evidence of the intensity of the fighting, with burnt-out tanks by the side of the road.

Fighting is also continuing in other areas. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said there had been clashes in the oil-producing states of Unity and Upper Nile in the north.

Up until Friday, the talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, were conducted by mediators. Now, teams representing the opposing factions are expected to negotiate face-to-face.

A preliminary meeting was held late on Saturday. Key issues are establishing a ceasefire, and the rebels' demand for the release of what they see as political prisoners.

But substantive talks failed to get under way on Sunday, delayed by disagreements over the agenda and - an official was quoted as saying - by "protocol issues".

It is now hoped talks will begin on Monday.

South Sudan spokesman Michael Makuei said the government would resist international pressure to free supporters of Mr Machar arrested in Juba at the start of the conflict.

He said releasing "those who attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government" would set a "bad precedent".

"Are we not risking the governments of Africa and the rest of the world to such attempts? We should not be arm-twisted because we are a new nation."

Meanwhile the first aid flight to South Sudan funded by the UK government has arrived in the country. The aircraft, carrying emergency aid and sanitation supplies, landed in Juba, on Sunday.

South Sudan is the world's newest state. It was formed in 2011, gaining independence from Sudan after decades of conflict.

The latest trouble has its roots in tensions that go back long before 2011. 

At the scene

Alastair Leithead BBC News, outside Bor

---

The rebels are not just a ragtag group of civilians with guns - although there is an element of that.

It's actually a whole division of the South Sudan army that has joined the rebel side.

So you've got army fighting against army. They're both very well armed.

The government has been trying for a few days to retake Bor. It still hasn't managed to get through.

We've seen bodies on the road and two burnt-out tanks. We've seen very heavy fighting between two trained armies.

By Christabelle Fombu. Samira Said and Marie-Louise Gumuchian, CNN

(CNN) -- As warring sides prepared to hold their first face-to-face talks to end weeks of ethnic fighting in the world's newest country, clashes flared around a key town Sunday.

Nhial Majak Nhial, the mayor of Bor, told CNN that rebel troops had been driven away from his town, which has exchanged hands several times during three weeks of violence that has killed hundreds and forced about 200,000 people from their homes.

Defense Minister Kuol Manyang said government forces tried to take back the disputed town but were forced to retreat to a military base eight miles away after rebels ambushed them.

Brig. Gen. Abraham Jongroor was killed and several officers were wounded when rebels attacked, the defense minister said.

Helicopters airlifted dozens of injured government troops to a military hospital in Juba, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) away.

 

Bor, capital of the oil-rich Jonglei state, has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting during the violence, as military forces have battled the rebel fighters.

"Their technique of fighting is numbers -- they are using numbers against capable and well-trained government troops," Nhial said. "Many of their men, some even children, have died."

President Salva Kiir and the rebels' leader, former Vice President Riek Machar, have sent delegations to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for talks to thrash out a ceasefire.

Face-to-face negotiations were scheduled to begin on Sunday but now are expected to start Monday morning, said Mahboub Maalim, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional group mediating the talks.

Mediators meet both sides

While neither Kiir nor Machar are in Addis Ababa, home of the African Union, group representatives have gathered and are talking amongst themselves on the sidelines, Maalim said.

"A lot of discussing and discussions going on for sure... we are ready to start face-to-face anytime, but we have to wait on the groups to be ready," he said.

The talks will focus on the cessation of hostilities and negative propaganda, the granting of access to monitors and to humanitarian aid workers, and the question of detainees, Maalim said on Saturday.

The proxy talks have been attended by special envoys to IGAD; the heads of negotiating teams of the two South Sudanese parties; Maalim; and the ministers of foreign affairs of Ethiopia and Kenya.

No breakthrough has come yet despite pressure on Kiir and Machar from African and Western powers to end the conflict. So far, the mediators met with representatives of both delegations to try to pin down the issues and set out a framework for the talks.

Speaking during a visit to Israel, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the negotiations needed to be "serious."

"They cannot be a delay gimmick in order to continue the fighting and try to find advantage on the ground at the expense of the people of South Sudan," he said. "We will work to apply international pressure to any elements that attempt to use force to seize power. That is not acceptable."

Ethnic tensions

But as the two sides' teams negotiate, fighting has continued in their country.

So far the violence has claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced about 200,000 others.

Humanitarian agencies have warned that the estimated 200,000 who have fled to makeshift camps are facing dire conditions, with many lacking clean water and sanitation in makeshift camps.

The fighting began in Juba on December 15 but quickly spread across the country, with reports of mass killings soon emerging.

Kiir, from the Dinka ethnic group, accused troops loyal to Machar, from the Nuer community, of trying to launch a coup. The two have long been political rivals, and Kiir dismissed Machar, along with the Cabinet, in July.

Although the conflict began as a political power struggle, it has taken on an ethnic dimension and includes evidence of ethnically targeted killings, according to the U.N. mission in South Sudan.

Some observers have said both sides may want to gain the upper hand militarily before beginning to discuss a possible cease-fire.

South Sudan is the world's youngest nation, having seceded from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war.

Journalist Mading Ngor contributed to this report.

Shots ring out in capital city, residents on edge as rumours swirl of rebel advance

Gunshots rang out in South Sudan's capital, Juba, for about an hour on Sunday as peace talks between rebels and the government to hammer out a ceasefire deal faced further delay in neighbouring Ethiopia.

The gunfire came from the direction of the military headquarters of the SPLA government forces, towards the northern outskirts of the city. It was not clear who was involved.

Three weeks of fighting, which began in Juba but spread beyond, often along ethnic faultlines, have killed more than a thousand people, forced a cut in oil output and left the world's newest state on the brink of civil war.

• Leave South Sudan, Foreign Affairs urges Canadians
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• Photo gallery: Conflict in South Sudan

Juba has been largely calm since the early clashes, though there was also a brief gun fight on Saturday evening and residents talk of growing tensions.

"I saw a truck full of soldiers going along the Bilpam road. They were singing. About 20 minutes later the shooting started and people started running towards town," said Animu Afekuru, who lives in the neighbourhood.

Western and regional powers, many of which supported the negotiations that led to South Sudan's secession from Sudan in 2011, are pressing for a peace deal, fearing the latest fighting could destabilize east Africa.

The unrest pits President Salva Kiir's SPLA government forces against rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.

Both warring factions have said they want peace and are committed to a ceasefire in principle, though neither has indicated when they would lay down their weapons.

But there is widespread skepticism in Juba, where residents are on edge amid rumours of a rebel advance on the city that lies on the banks of the White Nile.

"I fear for our country in the coming days," said 19-year-old Nyathok Khat. "The politicians don't care about the suffering of the people."

No 'delay gimmick'

Fighting also erupted outside the flashpoint town of Bor, capital of vast Jonglei state which has untapped oil reserves.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday voiced his support for the Addis Ababa peace talks and warned against the use of force by either side to gain the upper hand.

"The negotiations have to be serious. They cannot be a delay gimmick in order to continue the fighting and try to find advantage on the ground at the expense of the people of South Sudan," Kerry told reporters during a visit to Israel.

Rebel and government negotiators were supposed to sit down face-to-face for the first time on Sunday. But the rebel delegation and a Western diplomat told Reuters late in the evening there would be no meeting that day. 

Kiir blamed his long term rival, whom he sacked in July, for starting the fighting in a bid to seize power. Machar dismissed the allegation but he has acknowledged leading soldiers battling the government.

A key stumbling block to the talks is what should happen to a number of political detainees allied to Machar who are accused of involvement in the plot.

The rebels have demanded their comrades' release — a call backed by the United States and European Union.

"This is a capital offence, it is a case of treason and we are expected as the government of the Republic of South Sudan to investigate within two, three days? This is out of the question," South Sudan's Information Minister Michael Makuei told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Several false starts have dampened hopes for a swift end to the fighting, which has driven more than 200,000 people from their homes. The United Nations is scrambling to raise money to provide food, clean water and shelter.

Sudan's state news service reported Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir would head to Juba on Monday to meet Kiir.

By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN Associated Press

Combat is ongoing in South Sudan despite the opening of peace talks meant to end factional fighting, the United Nations said Tuesday.

U.N. peacekeepers reported fighting south of the city of Bor in oil-producing Jonglei state, and U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said explosions were heard to the southeast.

The peacekeepers patrolled a highway in Unity State and found most villages along the road from Mayom Junction to Pariyang burned or looted. Severe food, water and shelter shortages were also reported to the U.N. mission by local officials, Haq said.

Peacekeepers are on 24-hour patrols in Juba, the capital, but the situation remains tense there, he said.

The U.N. Mission in South Sudan continues to protect about 62,000 civilians in its bases, including nearly 30,000 at its two Juba bases, Haq said.

Talks in Ethiopia between representatives of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar were to resume Tuesday.

South Sudan has seen three weeks of violence that Kiir says began as a coup attempt Dec. 15, though Machar's side denies the allegation.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Kiir to urge him "to use the talks to find a peaceful, democratic way forward" and said senior members of Machar's faction who are imprisoned need to attend the talks, State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki said in Washington.

Kerry "reiterated that the United States will deny support and work to apply international pressure to any elements that use force to seize power from the government of South Sudan," she said.

South Sudan has been plagued by ethnic tension and a power struggle within the ruling party that escalated after Kiir dismissed Machar as his vice president in July, with the violence boiling over in mid-December. The rebels back Machar, who is now a fugitive sought by the military.

Lucy Poni, VOA

NAIROBI — As fighting continues between South Sudanese government troops and forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, long-time rebel leader David Yau Yau has agreed to lay down arms, officials say.

"The ministry of defense has this declaration of ceasefire by the Sudan People Liberation Army towards forces of David Yau Yau following the progress of negotiations that have been on-going for the last three months," South Sudanese Army spokesman Philip Aguer said in an announcement read out on national television Monday.

"I am directing the leadership of the SPLA to put into effect a ceasefire and to cease fighting forces of David Yau Yau," he said.

Yau Yau began holding peace talks with the government three months ago after holding a series of meetings with religious leaders led by Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Torit. 

Taban said Yau Yau and his rebel forces have "remained peaceful" since the negotiations began and even when the violence that erupted in Juba on Dec. 15 spread to Jonglei state, where Yau Yau is based. 

Many civilians displaced by the on-going fighting have sought refuge in Yau Yau's home county in Jonglei, Pibor, Taban said.

“That is why he gave a letter to the president that he wants a ceasefire to be done so that the people under his care should be supplied," the retired bishop said.

"He said, 'I will never join war, I am waiting for peaceful reconciliation with the government.'”

In the statement read out on television, Aguer said Yau Yau and the government have recognized "that given the humanitarian crisis that has befallen the civil population in the entire areas of Jonglei... there is a need to cease hostilities."

Former theology student turned rebel

An ethnic Murle who was once a student of theology, Yau Yau last year led his rebels in pitched battles against government forces for control of key towns in Jonglei state. 

In May last year, he told VOA that he was fighting for a separate state for ethnic minorities who are deprived of their rights in South Sudan, and dismissed as "a joke" an offer from the government to hold peace talks.

Just weeks later, a delegation of Murle leaders from Jonglei state met with Yau Yau and pleaded with him to "stop his rebellion because it is affecting the community and destroying development in the area," Nyany Korok, a Murle youth leader who was part of the 15-strong delegation that met with Yau Yau, said.

Following the outreach by the Murle leaders, Yau Yau agreed to begin peace talks with representatives of the government, but it took several months for the negotiations to get under way.

"Yau Yau has been ready for peace since November," Taban said.

"He selected 10 of his people -- they were ready for negotiations. The government promised to give us five (delegates for negotiations) but we have been waiting until now,” he said.

The bishop said the talks between Yau Yau and the government will be held in Addis Ababa as soon as a government negotiating team has been named.

Yau Yau first rebelled against Juba after he failed to win a parliamentary seat in the April 2010 general elections, accusing the ruling SPLM party of rigging the elections.

In 2011, he accepted an amnesty offer from President Salva Kiir and returned to Juba where he was promoted to the rank of SPLA general. But in 2012 he left the army, fled to Khartoum, and started a new rebellion against Juba in Jonglei state.

Rebels led by Yau Yau have been accused of being behind a cattle raid a year ago in which more than 100 people were killed, most of them women and children.

Juba  has accused Khartoum of supporting Yau Yau’s rebellion in a bid to block plans to build a oil pipeline through Jonglei state and Ethiopia, which would reduce South Sudan's dependence on Sudan for exporting its oil, the mainstay of its economy.

Sudan has denied the claims, and on Monday, during a visit to Juba, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pledged that Sudan will never support rebels fighting against the government of one of its neighbors because it "would only cause instability, exhaustion of resources and destruction of ties between countries."

By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post

"Lost Boy" refugees from Denver and other cities who went back to Sudan to bolster the multibillion-dollar U.S. effort to nurture Africa's newest nation are caught in the outbreak of fighting and fleeing.

And University of Colorado graduate Daniel Majok Gai, 33, risked his life helping lead civilians away from gun battles.

Denver-based Project Education South Sudan — which reconnected Gai and seven others with parents they had not seen for decades — is trying to bring him, his wife and infant son back to Colorado. Gai has been running schools and youth groups in South Sudan for three years. 

"I was helpless and desperately looking for support, but there was no network, no phone conversation with the outside world for 10 days in the bushes," Gai said in an e-mail Tuesday after escaping from a battle zone to neighboring Kenya.

As a boy during Sudan's civil war in 1987, Gai fled barefoot from attacks by northern Sudan forces and, after trekking vast distances, was resettled in Denver, where he worked nights in warehouses and attended college. He's one of the 3,600 Lost Boys accepted in 2001 by the U.S. government as refugees, who were sent to Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and California to make new lives. They dreamed of an independent South Sudan — which became a reality in 2011.

But political tensions within South Sudan's government erupted Dec. 15, and the fighting has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced tens of thousands. Rebel attacks in Bor, along the White Nile, forced Gai and others to scatter.

Hundreds including 10 U.S. citizens met up outside Bor and hung together, said Gai, a citizen. "They knew me because they belonged to my community."

He told the group to stay put while he and two others sneaked back into Bor and snagged three sacks of grain and charged a cellphone.

"Dead bodies were lying on the roads," Gai said. "Dogs, vultures and chickens were feeding on corpses.

"I felt like the world is upside down," he said. "When South Sudan achieved its first independence on July 9, 2011, I thought that no leaders would ever seek a leadership position through violence. But (as fighting broke out) I felt miserable. I said to myself that I was naive."

His brother in Denver, Ngor, tried for days to reach him. They finally connected just as Gai was facing crossfire in Bor.

"It was scary, hearing the gunshots," Ngor said.

Gai and other Lost Boys urge continued U.S. support for South Sudan, warning the fighting easily could escalate into a ruinous civil war. The political dispute between South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar, has broadened into a wider ethnic conflict between their respective tribes, the Dinka and Nuer.

Peace talks are planned in Ethiopia.

"A cease-fire will allow people hiding under bushes to come out and resume normal life," Gai said.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has proposed intervention to protect oilfields in South Sudan, which is twice the size of Texas but lacks paved roads, safe water and electricity.

Back in Denver, Carol Rinehart, director of Project Education South Sudan, received a cellphone call from Jacob Atem, a Lost Boy from Florida who was trapped in a United Nations compound in Bor. Gai had fled, he said, "Mama Carol, I think Daniel is safer in the bush."

Rinehart will fly to Kenya Saturday to bring back Gai, his wife, Yom, and their 10-month-old son Thon, who got sick in swamplands and nearly died before he was hospitalized in Kenya.

Thorns pierced the feet of Gai and others who trekked without proper shoes. As Thon vomited with fever, Gai got him and Yom to an evacuation flight to Kenya from an airstrip near Bor. He found space on a later flight.

Gai has been paid an annual salary of $35,000 to oversee four new schools funded by Project Education South Sudan supporters. Other Denver-based groups also have been training leaders in Sudan, drilling water wells and introducing roof-top rainwater-harvesting systems. These are among scores of private and U.S. government-backed projects aimed at building a stable South Sudan.

While shaken, Gai said he is undaunted and plans to return.

"I am obligated," he said. "It is my duty to return to South Sudan, when peace prevails, and resume the work we have been doing. That is where I was born."

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, twitter.com/finleybruce or bfinley@denverpost.com