Post date: Jan 06, 2014 3:50:23 PM
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir arrives in Juba for talks with Salva Kiir in Juba as the government and rebel delegations try to jumpstart peace talks in Ethiopia.
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN (JANUARY 06, 2014)(REUTERS) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir arrived in Juba on Monday (January 6) for talks with his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir.
Bashir is making his first official visit to Juba since fighting started and it is not clear yet what he will discuss with his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir.Three weeks of fighting, which began in Juba but spread beyond, often along ethnic faultlines, have killed more than a thousand people, forced a cut in oil output and left the world's newest state on the brink of civil war.
Juba has been largely calm since the early clashes, though there was also a brief gun fight on Saturday evening and residents talk of growing tensions.
Western and regional powers, many of which supported the negotiations that led toSouth Sudan's secession from Sudan in 2011, are pressing for a peace deal, fearing the latest fighting could destabilise east Africa.
The unrest pits President Salva Kiir's SPLA government forces against rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.
Both warring factions have said they want peace and are committed to a ceasefire in principle, though neither has indicated when they would lay down their weapons.
Kiir blamed his long term rival, whom he sacked in July, for starting the fighting in a bid to seize power. Machar dismissed the allegation but he has acknowledged leading soldiers battling the government.