Emergency Declared as Government, Rebels Meet to End Conflict

Government’s official Twitter account said South Sudan President Salva Kiir has declared on Wednesday a state of emergency in Unity and Jonglei, where Government troops and rebels had been engaged in heavy fighting, Aljazeera.net reported.

The declaration came as the rival parties were set to meet in open talks in Ethiopia on Thursday. The meeting aims to end the nearly three-week-old conflict, despite reports of an imminent military showdown in Jonglei.

Aljazeera.net reported government and rebel negotiators arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday.

Ethiopian government spokesman, Getachew Reda, has said the talks would focus on “monitoring mechanisms for the ceasefire”.

Reports said after the fall of Jonglei’s state capital, Bor, into the hands of the rebels on Tuesday, the government and rebels agreed to meet for peace talks.

However, South Sudan government refused to call it a ceasefire, claiming negotiators must first agree on “mechanisms” so the talks can move forward.

AlJazeera.net reported on Wednesday that President Kiir has named eight negotiators to represent his government in the proposed talks in Ethiopia.

Despite the preparations for the talks, government troops were making their way to Bor in an effort to gain back control of the Jonglei state capital, setting up another possible fierce battle with rebels.

Aljazeera.net correspondent has quoted government sources as saying “it is just a matter of time” before they retake Bor, which was captured by rebels on Tuesday. Fighting is also going on in other fronts like Mayom and Malakal.

Violence in South Sudan first erupted on December 15, when Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup. Machar has denied this, in turn accusing Kiir of conducting a violent purge of his opponents.

The violence spread across the country, with the rebels seizing several areas in the oil-rich north.

UN officials said many are feared dead while close to 200,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes – many seeking refuge with badly overstretched UN peacekeepers.

The UN has said it will do everything it can to prevent further “terrible acts of violence” in South Sudan.

“We have seen terrible acts of violence in the past two weeks, there has been killings and brutality, grave human rights violations and atrocities committed,” Hilde Johnson, UN special representative to South Sudan, told Al Jazeera.

Source: Aljazeera.net

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