African Leaders Arrived in South Sudan for Peace Talks

African leaders arrived in South Sudan in an attempt to mediate the rising conflict between the country’s president Salva Kiir and his former deputy whom he accuses of attempting a coup.

The conflict, government says, has sparked violence that threatens to destroy the oil-rich country.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Thursday, as senior government officials said Riek Machar, the former vice president, had to renounce the rebellion before government could negotiate with him, Aljazeera.net reported.

Michael Makuei Leuth, Information Minister, said the government has not yet established formal contact with Machar.

“For us, we are not talking with him,” Leuth said, referring to Machar, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Reports said Government troops are trying to retake control of Bentiu, the capital of Unity state, from forces loyal to Machar. Leuth said there was reported fighting overnight in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state.

Upper Nile and Unity are included in the country’s key oil-producing region.South Sudan gets nearly 99 percent of its government budget from oil revenues.

With the current turmoil, there are fears that such unrest could cut off the country’s economic lifeline.

Leuth said that the government forces are moving after the troops of Machar. “We are moving toward them and we will flush them out like we did in Bor,” Leuth said, referring to the capital of Jonglei state that government troops retook from renegade forces earlier in the week.

AlJazeera.net reported world leaders have urged the South Sudan leaders to stop the ongoing violence, where thousands are reportedly killed.

The United States, Norway and Ethiopia are leading efforts to open peace talks between Kiir and his political rivals, reports said. The UN has also urged fighting forces in South Sudan to lay down their arms, saying it will send more peacekeepers within the next 48 hours.

South Sudan President Kiir reportedly said in a Christmas address that he is willing to hold “dialogue” with all his opponents.

Reports said the UN is currently investigating reports of mass killings since violence began spreading across South Sudan after a fight among the presidential guards on December 15, pitting soldiers from Kiir’s Dinka ethnic group against those from the Nuer ethnic group of Machar.

UN’s humanitarian official in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, said on Monday that he believes the death toll has surpassed 1,000.

The UN Security Council last week voted unanimously to beef up its peacekeeping force in South Sudan.

Source: Aljazeera.net