Machar forces in bid to seize town
South Sudanese rebel leader and former vice president Riek Machar (C) attends an interview in Nasir on April 14, 2014. PHOTO | ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER |
What you need to know:
- Fierce fighting was reported to be raging inside the town, situated in the country’s oil-rich north, in what appeared to be a major counter-attack against a several weeks-old offensive by government troops.
JUBA, Saturday
Rebels in South Sudan on Saturday launched a large-scale attack on the strategic northern oil hub and state capital of Malakal, an official and aid sources said.
Fierce fighting was reported to be raging inside the town, situated in the country’s oil-rich north, in what appeared to be a major counter-attack against a several weeks-old offensive by government troops.
“The rebels of Riek Machar have attacked Malakal from all directions, from east, west, north and south, and the fighting up to now is continuing,” Information Minister Michael Makuei told AFP. He said government troops had so far “managed to repulse the rebels” to keep them from capturing the town.
The town had already been left in ruins last year after repeatedly swapping hands since South Sudan’s civil war broke out in December 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused Dr Machar, whom he had fired, of attempting a coup.
