South Sudan’s president and rebel
leader Riek Machar are flying for face-to-face
peace talks in Ethiopia, a foreign ministry
spokesman said Tuesday, to try and end two weeks
of fighting feared to have left thousands dead.
“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 AFP.
The world’s youngest nation plunged into chaos on
December 15 when Kiir accused his former deputy
Machar of mounting a coup. Machar in turn has
accused the president of using a clash between
army units as a pretext to carry out a violent purge.
Regional leaders at the Inter-Governmental
Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African
grouping, have demanded Machar agree to a
ceasefire and hold face-to-face talks with Kiir by
Tuesday.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has warned
that Machar must comply with the ceasefire deal by
Tuesday or face action by regional nations. He said
if Machar does not respond “we shall have to go for
him,” without clarifying if his threat involved military
action.
Thousands of people are feared to have been killed
in over two weeks of fighting, pitching army units
loyal to President Salva Kiir against a loose alliance
of ethnic militia forces and mutinous army
commanders nominally headed by ex-vice
president Riek Machar.
Ethiopia’s announcement of peace talks between
the rivals came as rebel spokesman Moses Ruai
claimed to have recaptured the key town of Bor
after a pre-dawn assault on government forces.
“Bor is under our control… we are now in Bor town
now,” Ruai told AFP.
However, army spokesman Philip Aguer said that
fighting was still ongoing, and rejected the claim.
“There is still fighting in Bor, the fighting is not yet
finalised,” he said.
There have also been grim reports of massacres,
rapes and killings, prompting the African Union to
threaten “targeted sanctions” over the conflict.
(AFP)
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