JUBA, (Reuters) – Rebels in South Sudan have seized some oil wells and captured half of the capital of the main oil-producing region, the government and army said yesterday as African leaders held talks to avert civil war.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir in the capital Juba in an attempt to end nearly two weeks of fighting in the world’s newest state.
“South Sudan is a young nation that should be spared unnecessary distractions in its development agenda. Take wisdom and stop the loss of innocent lives,” Kenyatta said in a statement. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom called the talks “very constructive and very candid”. It was not clear whether the delegation also met the rebel leader, former vice president Riek Machar, who was sacked by Kiir in July.
Violence erupted in Juba on Dec. 15 and has quickly spread, dividing the landlocked country of 10.8 million along ethnic lines between the Nuer – Machar’s people – and the Dinka, to whom Kiir belongs. The head of the U.N. mission in Sudan said well over 1,000 people had been killed.
Rebels and government troops clashed in Malakal, capital of the major oil-producing state, Upper Nile, for the third day in a row, army spokesman Philip Aguer said.
“They control half of the town and government troops control the other half. They will be defeated soon,” Aguer said by telephone. No comment was available from the rebel side.
Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said the rebels had captured oil wells in Unity state, where production was shut down earlier this week due to fighting.
