S. Sudan fighting continues ahead of Ethiopia talks

There was no sign of a ceasefire in South Sudan, yesterday, with continued fighting as the warring sides prepared to begin peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.A South Sudanese army spokesman told the BBC that clashes were continuing in Bor and parts of Unity state. The talks were delayed as the full government delegation was yet to arrive in Addis Ababa, officials said.Aid agencies say supplies are urgently needed for the thousands of people forced to flee their homes.Conditions have deteriorated in Awerial refugee camp on the banks of the Nile–now home to some 75,000 people who have fled the fighting in nearby Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, now in rebel hands.“There is no clean drinking water. Five boreholes, it’s just not enough,” David Nash of the medical charity MSF told the BBC.“People are drinking water straight out of the river Nile. It’s muddy, it’s not good. And there are no latrines, so open defecation is happening. Conditions for an outbreak of watery diarrhoea are perfect.”The bishop of Bor, Ruben Akurdit Ngong, who fled the fighting on Sunday and is now in the capital Juba, described the town as a “war zone” with “dead bodies everywhere.”“When you are in Bor town, you move around closing your nose because of the terrible smell,” he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.Tricky talksCol. Philip Aguer, the army spokesperson, confirmed that Bor was in rebel hands.Bor, 200 kilometres north of Juba, has changed hands three times in the past two weeks.The SPLA “withdrew tactically but fighting is still going around Bor town and it is a matter of time that SPLA will restore stability to the area,” Col. Aguer said.He also said fighting was taking place in Unity state’s western Mayom area and around the oil fields in the north.A state of emergency was declared by President Salva Kiir on Wednesday in Unity and Jonglei.At least 1,000 people have died and some 180,000 people forced from their homes since fighting erupted last month between supporters of President Kiir and those of his sacked deputy Riek Machar.