- published: 23 Dec 2013
- views: 5033
South Sudan: Rebels seize Bentiu, capital of the oil producing Unity State For more Latest and Breaking News Headlines SUBSCRIBE to https://www.youtube.com/user/24X7BreakingNEWS Rebels have seized the capital of a key oil-producing state in South Sudan, government officials said, as fears grew the latest violence would spiral into an all-out civil war in the world's newest country. The United Nations has said it was trying to send more peacekeeping forces to the East African state as foreign powers urged an immediate end to the fighting. The violence, which began in the capital Juba, has spread further north in one week, killing hundreds of people and displacing tens of thousands. Military spokesman Phillip Aguer told CNN that Bentiu is currently not under government control after falling to troops loyal to former vice president Riek Machar, who was ousted from his post in the summer. On its Twitter feed, the South Sudanese government wrote: "Bentiu is not currently in our hands. It is in the hands of a commander who has declared support for Machar." Bentiu is the capital of Unity State, from where oil -- crucial to impoverished South Sudan's economy -- flows through pipelines north into Sudan for export. Aguer said troops of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) were on their way to retake rebel-held towns -- namely Bentiu and Bor, also north of Juba. He said the Sudanese army had not asked regional powers to assist, saying the SPLA was equipped to handle the situation. He would not specify the number of troops being sent in and estimated approximately 1,500 rebels were in both Bor and Bentiu. Tensions President Salva Kiir, from South Sudan's Dinka ethnic group, has accused troops loyal to Machar -- from the Nuer community -- whom he dismissed alongside the Cabinet in July, of trying to launch a coup. The two men have long been political rivals. Up to 40,000 civilians have taken refuge in U.N. bases in the country, the world body says. It estimates some 62,000 people have been displaced in total, with five of South Sudan's 10 states affected by the violence. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference in the Philippines on Sunday the United Nations planned to send resources from other peacekeeping missions in the region to South Sudan, a landlocked country that split from Sudan in 2011. The organization has moved noncritical staff out of Juba across the border into Uganda. Evacuations In light of the spiraling violence, foreign countries have airlifted their citizens out of South Sudan. All Americans who presented themselves at the U.N camp in the flashpoint town of Bor were evacuated safely Sunday, the State Department 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