South Sudan Rebels In Multiple Clashes With Army

There has been recent fighting in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei states

There has been recent fighting in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei states
There has been recent fighting in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei states

Rebels in South Sudan are involved in fierce fighting with the army in several areas of the country, the military spokesman has told the BBC.

There is ongoing fighting in the north-east of Upper Nile State and the east of Jonglei State, Philip Aguer said.

Earlier, the rebels denied a UN report that they killed hundreds of civilians after taking control last week of the oil hub, Bentiu, in Unity State.

A ceasefire deal in January has failed to halt the violence.

More than a million people have been forced from their homes since fighting broke out in December 2013.

The conflict pits President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, against his former Vice-President, Riek Machar, from the Nuer community.

‘Temporary loss’

Mr Aguer said that the army had also been forced to withdraw from Mayom in Unity State in order to reorganise its forces following the loss of Bentiu.

“The victory that’s been achieved by the rebels is temporary, it’s just a matter of time [before] they will be out of Bentiu,” he told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.

But he said there were several other fronts on which the rebels were active.

For the last week, the town of Renk in the north-east of Upper Nile State had come under attack from Mr Machar’s forces.

“That should be condemned internationally; there is no war where you bombard residential areas indiscriminately at night… [it has] caused havoc and fear.”

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