Credit: Reuters
The United States evacuated more embassy
staff on Friday from South Sudan's capital Juba due to worsening security in
the country, where clashes between rebels and the army risk turning into
full-blown civil war.
The fighting, which began on Dec. 15, has split the world's
newest state along ethnic lines, between President Salva Kiir's Dinkas and
former vice president Riek Machar's Nuer group, and raised fears of regional
instability.
Kiir's government and the rebels have sent negotiators to
neighbouring Ethiopia for peace talks. They have yet to meet face-to-face but
have separately met mediators from the East African bloc IGAD.
"We are not suspending our operations. We are just
minimising our presence," Susan Page, the U.S. ambassador to Juba, told
Reuters.
An emergency message to U.S. citizens on the embassy's website
said the move was due to a "deteriorating security situation". It
said there would be an evacuation flight on Friday arranged by the U.S. State
Department.
Kiir's government and the rebels loyal to Machar have agreed to
a ceasefire, mediators say, but there is no agreement yet on a starting date
and some diplomats say both sides still seem more intent on manoeuvring for
military advantage.
Military Advances:
Rebel spokesman Moses Ruai Lat, based in the northern state of
Unity, said on Friday his comrades, who have seized control of Jonglei state's
capital Bor, were now marching towards Juba and were already "close"
to the capital.
His comments came a day after the Sudan People's Liberation Army
(SPLA), which is loyal to the government, said its forces were advancing on
Bor, a strategic town some 190 km (118 miles) by road north of Juba, to meet
rebel militia heading south.
Such reports will fan concerns of a further escalation in
violence that has already killed 1,000 people in South Sudan, a country the
size of France with nearly 11 million people that seceded from Sudan in 2011.
Kiir has accused his long-term political rival Machar, whom he
sacked in July, of starting the fighting in a bid to seize power. Machar denies
the claim.
In the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the peace negotiations
have got off to a slow start.
"Both delegations are meeting the mediators
separately," said Dina Mufti, a spokesman for Ethiopia's foreign ministry.
"We hope to bring both sides into face-to-face talks soon."
