S Sudan rebels accuses govt. forces of violating truce
Iran Press TV
Sun May 11, 2014 3:17PM GMT
A ceasefire in South Sudan seems to be shaky as rebels accuse government forces of multiple violations along several fronts.
The accusation comes just hours after the truce came into effect to end the five-month conflict in the world's youngest nation.
A rebel spokesman says the breaches show that the administration of President Salva Kiir is either insincere or not in control of his troops.
'The latest violations of the agreement to resolve the crisis in South Sudan shows that [President Salva] Kiir is either insincere or not in control of his forces,' media outlets quoted rebel military spokesman Lul Ruai Koang as saying.
In a statement issued on Sunday, rebel military spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said the reported violations showed 'that Kiir is either insincere or not in control of his forces.'
He claims that the army carried out ground and artillery attacks in the oil-rich northern states of Upper Nile and Unity.
The government, however, says it has given strict orders to its forces to respect the peace deal.
On Friday, the South Sudanese leader and rebel leader Riek Machar agreed to halt fighting by Saturday evening.
Recently, Amnesty International has accused both government forces and rebels in South Sudan of committing "horrific atrocities" against humanity.
Violence erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, following fighting between troops loyal to President Kiir and defectors led by his sacked deputy, Machar, around Juba. The conflict soon turned into an all-out war between the army and the defectors, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president's Dinka tribe against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.
The war has so far claimed thousands of lives and displaced over 1.2 million people.
JR/AB
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