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South Sudan: Peace talks begin in bid to stem conflict
South Sudan’s warring parties have gathered in Ethiopia Thursday for peace talks aimed at ending nearly 3 weeks of a conflict that may escalate into a full blown civil war.
It was not clear if all members of the 2 delegations had arrived. Scores of people are feared to have been killed in the fighting, pitting army units loyal to President Salva Kiir against a loose alliance of militia forces and mutinous army commanders nominally headed by ex-vice president Riek Machar.
The conflict erupted on December 15 when Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup. Machar has denied this, in turn accusing the president of conducting a purge of his opponents. The conflict has spread across the country, with the rebels seizing areas in the oil-rich north.
On Tuesday militia forces aligned to Machar recaptured Bor, the capital of Jonglei state just 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital Juba.
The decision by the 2 sides to send delegations for initial ceasefire talks has been widely welcomed by the African Union.
The conflict has also been marked by an upsurge of ethnic violence pitting members of Kiir’s Dinka ethnic group against Machar’s Nuer community.
On Tuesday, Machar told reporters via satellite phone that he was not yet ready to agree to an immediate ceasefire nor hold face-to-face talks with Kiir. “There is no cessation of hostilities yet,” Machar said. “That is what the delegation going to Addis Ababa is going to discuss.”
