Clashes continue in South Sudan

Clashes continue between South Sudanese government forces and rebels backed by former Vice President Riek Machar.

According to South Sudanese military officials, fighting was still taking place on Wednesday for the control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei State.

Battle was also underway in the oil-producing state of Upper Nile.

Philip Aguer, a South Sudanese army spokesman, has confirmed that clashes were going on near Bor.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the rebels fighting against the government said that there would be no imminent truce unless the government in Juba released 11 detainees accused of planning a coup.

Meanwhile, mediators in Juba say the detainees are against deadly clashes for their release and are seeking a political solution to the situation in the country.

The government says the detainees will be released through the procedures of the judicial system.

Peace talks brokered by the East African regional bloc of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are being held in Ethiopia between the rival sides to the South Sudan conflict.

Although the negotiations have stalled a number of times, US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said that the talks have made progress.

“The discussions have made progress on a proposed cessation of hostilities.”

Thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan since violent clashes erupted on December 15, after President Salva Kiir accused Machar of attempting to stage a coup. The former vice president denied the accusations.

More than 200,000 people have also fled their homes as a result of the ethnic clashes between troops loyal to Kiir, who is from the Dinka ethnic group, and Machar, a Nuer.