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              Heavy Clashes in South Sudan as Peace Talks Continue

   by VOA News

   Peace talks between South Sudan rebels and the government appear to be
   inching forward, amid reports of heavy clashes between the sides.
   Delegations for the two sides made statements Wednesday in Ethiopia's
   capital, a day after regional mediators presented a draft cease-fire
   agreement.
   Government delegates said they were ready to sign the agreement "soon"
   but did not elaborate. The rebels indicated the detention of pro-rebel
   officials by the government remains an obstacle.
   Meanwhile, a South Sudanese radio station said the town of Mayom in
   Unity State has been "destroyed" after two days of heavy fighting
   between army forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors who
   back the president's rival, Riek Machar.
   The U.N. mission in South Sudan said Tuesday that most villages along
   the road from Mayom to nearby Pariyang appeared to be burned or looted.
   U.N. humanitarian official Toby Lanzer said Wednesday he would go to
   Unity State to learn more.
   The rebels said in the last 48 hours they have repelled government
   attacks on their positions west of the capital, Juba, and south of Bor,
   the rebel-held capital of Jonglei state.
   Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, an army officer who defected to the
   rebels, told reporters that rebel forces were staying on the defensive
   for now.
   "In the immediate future, the areas we are controlling we are holding
   them, OK? But at this time we are not in a position to run fresh
   attacks on government positions because we are giving peace process a
   chance," he said.
   ''Nearly a month of violence in South Sudan has killed more than 1,000
   people and forced about 200,000 from their homes.
   South Sudan's unrest began December 15 when renegade soldiers attacked
   an army headquarters. President Salva Kiir accused former vice
   president Riek Machar of a coup attempt. Machar has called for the army
   to overthrow the president.
   Witnesses say some of the violence is ethnically motivated, with
   supporters of Kiir, a member of the Dinka tribe, and supporters of
   Machar, from the Nuer tribe, targeting each other.
   The U.N. refugee agency said it wa struggling to keep up with the
   humanitarian needs of the thousands of South Sudanese refugees who have
   crossed into Uganda to escape violence. The agency said refugees were
   now crossing into Uganda at a rate of up to 2,500 a day.
   The agency also said a growing number of refugees were also making
   their way into Ethiopia and Kenya.
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   -talks-continue/1825770.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/heavy-clashes-in-south-sudan-as-peace-talks-continue/1825770.html