South Sudan army retakes strategic towns from rebels
Iran Press TV
Sun May 4, 2014 9:44PM GMT
(South) Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers have taken full control of two towns in the north of the landlocked African country as part of their major offensives against rebel forces.
Army spokesman Philip Aguer said on Sunday that government soldiers captured the key rebel base of Nasir earlier in the day after heavy bombardments.
The advance had reportedly forced rebel leader Riek Machar, who has been fighting President Salva Kiir since mid-December, to flee towards the Ethiopian border.
Government troops also moved into the northern oil hub of Bentiu, capital of the oil-rich Unity State, on Sunday.
'Government soldiers are now in Bentiu, they appear to be in control,' an independent aid worker in the town said.
The developments come just days after Kiir agreed during a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to hold direct talks with Machar on ending the civil war in the world's youngest nation.
Machar has reportedly said that face-to-face talks 'may be counter-productive' -- throwing the prospect of any talks into doubt.
Last month, US President Barack Obama signed a decree authorizing punitive sanctions, including the seizure of assets and visa bans, against anyone in South Sudan deemed to be threatening peace efforts.
South Sudan has been witnessing violence since December 2013, when political rivalry between Kiir and his former vice president Machar turned violent.
The conflict soon turned into an all-out war between troops loyal to Kiir and defectors led by Machar, with the violence taking on ethnic overtones that pitted the Nuer people aligned with Machar- against the Dinka, who support Kiir.
Thousands of people have so far been killed and more than one million displaced in the conflict.
MP/MAM/AS
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