South Sudan army recaptures last main settlement
Iran Press TV
Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:48PM GMT
The South Sudanese army has regained full control of the key oil town of Malakal, the final main settlement under rebel control, an official says.
Philip Aguer, an army spokesman, said the South Sudanese troops managed on Monday to defeat rebel fighters loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state.
"Malakal is finally in the hands of the SPLA (South Sudan's army)...they (the rebels) were flushed out of the town," Aguer added.
The strategic town has already switched hands numerous times since the outbreak of the intense fighting in South Sudan.
The capture of Malakal comes two days after government troops defeated 1,000 rebels and retook the city of Bor, the capital of the restive Jonglei state.
This is while on Monday, a UN spokesman said soldiers in South Sudan have tried to forcibly enter a United Nations compound in the city of Bor where thousands of civilians have taken shelter from ongoing violence.
Rebel groups, however, reportedly still maintain the control of large areas of the countryside.
Violence erupted in South Sudan on December 15, 2013, after President Salva Kiir accused former VP Machar, who was sacked last July, of attempting to stage a coup. The fighting continues despite efforts to broker a ceasefire between the government and the rebels.
Up to 10,000 people are believed to have been killed so far in the violence gripping South Sudan.
According to the United Nations, about 400,000 civilians have also fled their homes in the wake of heavy fighting there.
GMA/AB/SL
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