May 7, 2014 12:00 AM GMT+0300
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South Sudanese President Salva Kiir
and rebel leader Riek Machar plan talks in Ethiopia this week to
end a conflict that has lasted almost five months, an African
mediating group said.
The leaders “are set to meet” in Addis Ababa on May 9, the East African intergovernmental group IGAD, which has been mediating in the conflict, said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday.
Fighting erupted in South Sudan on Dec. 15 with Kiir accusing Machar of plotting a coup, a charge Machar denies. The violence has left thousands of people dead and forced more than a million to flee their homes, according to the UN.
Kiir told reporters earlier in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, that he’s ready to meet Machar to discuss a halt to fighting. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking alongside Kiir on a visit to the world’s newest nation, said he would urge Machar to participate.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Washington yesterday that he was hopeful that the prospective meeting “could be the beginning of a dialogue.”
Kerry blamed both sides for failing to uphold an earlier cease-fire. He said the U.S. is imposing sanctions on two military leaders, one from each side, who were involved in violence against civilians.
South Sudan’s crude output has fallen by about a third to 160,000 barrels per day since the violence began, according to the Petroleum Ministry. Machar had vowed to seize oil fields in Upper Nile, the only state still pumping crude, to starve the military of revenue.
China National Petroleum Corp., India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Petroliam Nasional Bhd., the main producers of South Sudan’s oil, evacuated some employees from the country because of the violence.
To contact the reporters on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa at wdavison3@bloomberg.net; Mading Ngor in Juba at mngor@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net Michael Gunn, Karl Maier
The leaders “are set to meet” in Addis Ababa on May 9, the East African intergovernmental group IGAD, which has been mediating in the conflict, said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday.
Fighting erupted in South Sudan on Dec. 15 with Kiir accusing Machar of plotting a coup, a charge Machar denies. The violence has left thousands of people dead and forced more than a million to flee their homes, according to the UN.
Kiir told reporters earlier in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, that he’s ready to meet Machar to discuss a halt to fighting. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking alongside Kiir on a visit to the world’s newest nation, said he would urge Machar to participate.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Washington yesterday that he was hopeful that the prospective meeting “could be the beginning of a dialogue.”
Kerry blamed both sides for failing to uphold an earlier cease-fire. He said the U.S. is imposing sanctions on two military leaders, one from each side, who were involved in violence against civilians.
Oil Decline
Government forces on May 4 recaptured the rebel stronghold of Nasir and Bentiu, the capital of oil-rich Unity state, drawing criticism from the U.S. for violating a January truce. Fighting between government troops and insurgents continued in Bentiu yesterday, army spokesman Philip Aguer said by phone from Juba.South Sudan’s crude output has fallen by about a third to 160,000 barrels per day since the violence began, according to the Petroleum Ministry. Machar had vowed to seize oil fields in Upper Nile, the only state still pumping crude, to starve the military of revenue.
China National Petroleum Corp., India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Petroliam Nasional Bhd., the main producers of South Sudan’s oil, evacuated some employees from the country because of the violence.
To contact the reporters on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa at wdavison3@bloomberg.net; Mading Ngor in Juba at mngor@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net Michael Gunn, Karl Maier
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