'Scores dead' in South Sudan fighting: government
Scores of rebels have died in renewed fighting in South Sudan, the government claimed Monday, reporting some of the worst violence since peace talks broke down earlier this month.
Military spokesman Philip Aguer said the latest clashes were concentrated around the town of Renk in oil-rich Upper Nile State in the north of the country.
He said government troops "have been under attack by the rebels of Riek Machar for the past 48 hours, and finally repulsed the attackers," killing 130 of them for the loss of 14 government soldiers.
Scores of rebels have died in renewed fighting in South Sudan, the government claimed Monday, reporting some of the worst violence since peace talks broke down earlier this month ©Simon Maina (AFP/File)
Aid sources confirmed there has been fighting in the area close to the border with Sudan, but could not give any further details. Rebel officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
South Sudan's civil war started in December 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar, who had been sacked as vice president, of attempting a coup.
The two sides have been locked in sporadic and often intense fighting since, leaving tens of thousands dead, two million uprooted from their homes and 2.5 million in desperate need of food aid.
Regionally-brokered peace talks in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa collapsed earlier this month, with diplomats now warning of the possibility of targetted sanctions against military leaders from both sides.
