Rebels accuse South Sudan government of attacks

South Sudanese rebels said on Saturday government troops had attacked their positions over the last three days, casting further doubt on a fragile peace agreement in the world’s youngest country.
No one was immediately available to comment from the government – but both sides have regularly accused the other of breaking the ceasefire ratified by parliament in September under pressure from the UN, regional and world powers.
“For the last three days we have received a report of the government forces on the offensive, attacking our positions in Unity state,” rebel spokesperson James Gatdet Dak said, referring to an oil-producing region on the northern border with Sudan.
“The intention was actually for them to control the areas we have been holding for a number of months, and this is a clear violation of the permanent peace agreement.”
South Sudan split away from Sudan in 2011 under the terms of a peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war.