- published: 19 Dec 2013
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South Sudan town falls to rebels as fighting spreads For more Latest and Breaking News Headlines SUBSCRIBE to https://www.youtube.com/user/ZakWorldNEWS Rebels in South Sudan have taken the town of Bor, government officials said Thursday, as deadly clashes spread in Africa's newest nation. The town, which lies about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital, Juba, was under heavy shelling, said Col. Phillip Aguer, an army spokesman. Bor Mayor Mhial Majak Mhial said the town was under rebel control and heavy artillery was in use. The fighting has been spreading in South Sudan after a reported coup attempt in Juba over the weekend. President Salva Kiir has blamed soldiers loyal to his former vice president, Riek Machar, for starting the violence. "The government has lost control of Jonglei state to the forces of Col. Machar and his group," government representative Ateny Wek Ateny told CNN, referring to the state where Bor is situated. The government could not yet confirm the number of fatalities from the violence, but "casualties are in the hundreds, including army forces and civilians," Ateny said. Earlier, Joseph Contreras, acting spokesman for the U.N. mission in South Sudan, told CNN the situation in Bor was "still unstable." The violence, which the government said Wednesday has killed about 500 people, began Sunday evening. In an interview with the online Paris-based Sudan Tribune published Wednesday, Machar denied Kiir's claims that he was behind an attempted coup, saying: "There was no coup. What took place in Juba was a misunderstanding between presidential guards within their division." On Thursday, Kiir told reporters he was ready for dialogue "with anyone who is willing," the website said. East African foreign ministers were headed to Juba, the African Union said, to find a solution to the crisis. Tensions have been high in South Sudan since Kiir dismissed his entire Cabinet, including Machar, in July. The move further inflamed deep tensions between Kiir's Dinka community and Machar's Nuer community. U.N. officials have said they are worried the recent fighting is based on ethnic divisions. Citing reports it had received, Human Rights Watch said Thursday that in the fighting in Juba, South Sudanese soldiers fired indiscriminately in highly populated areas and targeted people for their ethnicity. According to witnesses and victims, soldiers specifically targeted people from the Nuer ethnic group, it said, adding that it had also received reports that Nuer soldiers may have targeted ethnic Dinka in Juba and in the town of Bor. "The awful accounts of killings in Juba may only be the tip of the iceberg," Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Government officials -- whatever their politics -- need to take urgent steps to prevent further abuses against civilians and quickly deescalate rising ethnic tensions. ... We are deeply concerned that ethnically-based attacks on all sides will lead to revenge attacks and more violence." It was not immediately possible to independently verify the reports. Government officials have disputed that the fighting is along ethnic lines. Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said Wednesday that people from different states and tribes rose up against the government, which is now fighting back. Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the foiled coup, according to a statement the South Sudan government posted Thursday. Two of them were from the Nuer community, it said. TAGS abc breaking news, bbc, bbc football, bbc iplayer, bbc news, bbc news america, bbc persian, bbc sport, bbc weather, bbc world news, breaking celebrity news, breaking election news, breaking late news, breaking local news, breaking music news, breaking news, breaking news alerts, breaking news canada, breaking news headlines, breaking news in atlanta, breaking news in nigeria, breaking news india, breaking news pensacola florida, breaking news plane crash, breaking news story, breaking sports news, business expensive news home media world, christian world news, cnn, cnn breaking news, cnn money, cnn news, cnn news breaking news, cnn news world, detroit breaking news, global news, headline, headline news, health care technology news, hot latest global news, internet technology news, las vegas breaking news, latest breaking news, latest celebrity news, latest information technology news, latest music news, latest news, latest news headlines, latest news update, latest sports news, live breaking news, local breaking news, local news today, msn breaking news, nbc breaking news, nbc world news, news of the world, news report us world, news today news, news updated daily, solar technology news, sports news today, technology news, the latest news, today news, us news and world, us news and world report, us news and world report magazine, us news and world report web site, us news world report, world news, world news daily, world news headlines