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South Sudan army 'recaptures key town of Bor' | South Sudan army 'recaptures key town of Bor' |
(35 minutes later) | |
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says his forces have recaptured the key town of Bor, days after it was seized by rebels in a week-long conflict. | South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says his forces have recaptured the key town of Bor, days after it was seized by rebels in a week-long conflict. |
Forces loyal to Mr Kiir's ex-deputy Riek Machar were "on the run", the information minister said. The rebels have not commented on the claim. | Forces loyal to Mr Kiir's ex-deputy Riek Machar were "on the run", the information minister said. The rebels have not commented on the claim. |
There has been a week of fighting amid a struggle between Mr Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Mr Machar, of the Nuer. | There has been a week of fighting amid a struggle between Mr Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Mr Machar, of the Nuer. |
The UN earlier said that it had reports of at least three mass graves. | The UN earlier said that it had reports of at least three mass graves. |
One was in Bentiu in the north, and two in the capital, Juba. | |
It said there was "palpable fear" among civilians that they would be killed for their ethnicity. | |
'Back in control' | |
President Kiir told journalists in Juba: "Forces loyal to the government have taken Bor and are now clearing whatever forces that are remaining there." | |
Information Minister Michael Makwei told Agence France Presse: "The army captured Bor around sunset and the rebel forces are now on the run... We are back in control." | Information Minister Michael Makwei told Agence France Presse: "The army captured Bor around sunset and the rebel forces are now on the run... We are back in control." |
Bor had been one of the major successes for the rebels. They are believed to still be in control of Bentiu, the capital of the oil-producing Unity State. | Bor had been one of the major successes for the rebels. They are believed to still be in control of Bentiu, the capital of the oil-producing Unity State. |
Bor is 200km (125 miles) north of Juba. | |
Some 17,000 civilians had sought refuge in a UN camp in Bor after the rebels took over. | |
UN officials say at least 80,000 people have been displaced by the South Sudan crisis - about half of them seeking shelter at a number of UN bases. | |
Radio Tamazuj said government troops of the Sudan People's Liberation Army had launched attacks on positions held by Nuer commander and army defector Peter Gadet on Tuesday afternoon in Bor. | |
Some reports said there was still fighting near the airport, and Mr Makwei also said that "shooting continued". | |
Mr Kiir said there was also fighting in the town of Malakal and that his troops were "ready to capture Bentiu". | |
Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said: "There is a palpable fear among civilians of both Dinka and Nuer backgrounds that they will be killed on the basis of their ethnicity." | |
UNHCR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said a UN official had seen 14 bodies in a mass grave in Bentiu and another 20 at a riverside nearby. | |
But she said 75 SPLA soldiers, all Dinka, were unaccounted for there and were feared dead. | |
The other two reported mass grave sites are at Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Eden, in Juba. | |
President Kiir and Mr Machar have both said they are willing to talk. | |
However, Mr Machar has said his detained political allies must first be freed, while Mr Kiir says there should be no preconditions. | |
Mr Machar told Radio France Internationale he had spoken to US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday. Mr Machar said he had formed a delegation for talks and that they would probably be held in Ethiopia. | |
He said: "We want a democratic nation. We want democratic free and fair elections. We want Salva Kiir to call it a day." | |
Mr Kiir has accused Mr Machar, who he sacked in July, of plotting a coup. Mr Machar denies he is trying to seize power. | |
The official death toll in the week of fighting stands at 500, but the figure may be much higher. | |
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an increase in the UN's peacekeepers from 6,800 to about 11,800. A Security Council vote on the resolution is expected later on Tuesday. | |
Sudan suffered a 22-year civil war that left more than a million people dead before the South became independent in 2011. |