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Fears Grow of Civil War in South Sudan
by Reuters
South Sudan's government said on Sunday rebels had seized the capital
of a key oil-producing region and fears grew of all-out ethnic civil
war in the world's newest country.
The U.N. announced it was trying to rush more peacekeeping forces to
landlocked, impoverished South Sudan as foreign powers urged both sides
to stop fighting, fearing for the stability of an already fragile
region of Africa.
The South Sudan government said on its Twitter account it was no longer
in control of Bentiu, the capital of Unity State.
"Bentiu is not currently in our hands. It is in the hands of a
commander who has declared support for Machar," it said.
Information Minister Michael Makuei said on Saturday an army divisional
commander in Unity State, John Koang, had defected and joined rebel
leader and former vice president Riek Machar, who had named him the
governor of the state.
But the government in Juba said it was still in control of the
oilfields crucial to the economy.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference in Manila the
U.N. planned to send resources from other peacekeeping missions in the
region to South Sudan.
"We are now actively trying to transfer our assets from other
peacekeeping missions like MONUSCO (in the Democratic Republic of
Congo) ... and some other areas," he said.
"And we are also seeking support from other key countries [which] can
provide the necessary assets," said Ban.
Clashes between rival groups of soldiers in the capital Juba a week ago
have spread across the country, which won its independence from Sudan
in 2011 after decades of war.
President Salva Kiir, from South Sudan's Dinka ethnic group, has
accused Machar, a Nuer whom he dismissed in July, of trying to launch a
coup. The two men have long been political rivals.
Machar dismissed the charge but has since said he is commanding troops
fighting the government.
Machar sightings
Government soldiers had come across Machar with a group of fighters,
Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said.
"Riek managed to escape, used his boat along the Nile and ended up in
his village of Ado and went into Bentiu (the administrative capital of
Unity) ... the night before, he attacked government institutions,"
Benjamin added.
On Friday mediators from other African states met Kiir in Juba for what
they called "productive" talks. His government said it was willing to
hold talks with any rebel group.
Kenyan Lieutenant-General Lazarus Sumbeiywo said on Sunday mediators
had not yet made contact with Machar to hear his side of the story.
"I don't think it is feasible at the moment under the circumstances ...
and so we will find another way of getting to Riek Machar. Not through
Juba," Sumbeiywo told Reuters.
The army acknowledged losing the town of Bor in Jonglei State on
Wednesday, and the United Nations said oil workers had taken refuge in
its bases in neighboring Unity.
Reuters television footage showed the government sending more troops on
Saturday to Bor - the scene of an ethnic massacre of Dinka in 1991 by
Nuer fighters loyal to Machar.
Benjamin said Machar had not seized oilfields in Unity.
"Of course there is a threat. But ... he is not occupying the
oilfields. The oil has been running."
Speaking in Khartoum, South Sudan's Ambassador Mayen Dut Wol also said
oil was flowing normally. South Sudan's output of 245,000 barrels per
day supplies almost all government revenues and hard currency to buy
food and other vital imports.
The United Nations says hundreds of people have been killed in the
conflict and around 62,000 people have been forced to flee their homes
in five of South Sudan's 10 states. Around 42,000 of them were seeking
refuge at U.N. bases, it added.
UN bases looted
"Looting of humanitarian compounds has been reported in Jonglei (Akobo
and Bor) and Unity. Several U.N. and NGO compounds in Bor town have
reportedly been completely looted, including vehicles stolen," the U.N.
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report.
A spokesman for U.N. peacekeepers said they were bringing in more
aircraft from their logistics base in Entebbe in Uganda to South Sudan.
A diplomatic source at the U.N. in New York said elements of the U.N.
intervention brigade in eastern Congo could help out in South Sudan,
but would only reinforce security at U.N. bases and not try to confront
armed groups.
The source said the U.N. had asked countries to help it get real-time
satellite images of South Sudan and there was a possibility of using
unmanned surveillance drones, currently deployed in eastern Congo.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan said on Sunday it was
relocating non-essential staff and planned to reinforce its military
presence in Bor and Pariang to protect civilians.
About 100 civilian staff were being relocated on Sunday, and 60 staff
from other U.N. agencies left on Saturday.
Three U.S. aircraft came under fire from unidentified forces on
Saturday while trying to evacuate Americans from the conflict. The U.S.
military said four of its members were wounded in the attacks.
The United States safely flew a number of Americans from Bor to Juba on
Sunday, the State Department said, adding that overall it had taken
about 380 Americans and about 300 citizens of other countries out of
South Sudan on four chartered flights and five military aircraft.
The U.N. mission in South Sudan said one of four U.N. helicopters sent
to Youai, in Jonglei state, had come under small-arms fire on Friday.
No crew or passengers were harmed.
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References
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