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The UN Security Council has warned over South Sudan’s food crisis as the worst in the world, calling for urgent action.
It said there was a “catastrophic food insecurity” in South Sudan, urging donor nations who pledged $618 million in aid to make good on their promise.
More than 50,000 of children may die of hunger in South Sudan unless international help increased (photo Getty Images)
The UN children’s fund, UNICEF, said some four million – a third of the population – could be affected.
It said that 50,000 children may die of hunger in South Sudan unless international help increased.
More than a million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted between different factions of South Sudan’s ruling party last December.
Thousands have now died in the conflict that started as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar but has since escalated into ethnic violence.
Months of fighting have prevented farmers from planting or harvesting crops, causing food shortages nationwide.
South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, topped the list of fragile states in this year’s index released by The Fund for Peace, a leading US-based research institute.
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South Sudan’s army and rebels have accused each other of breaching a ceasefire, only hours after it was meant to come into effect.
The army said rebels attacked government positions in the early hours of Sunday in the town of Bentiu in oil-rich Unity State.
The rebels said their positions were targeted by ground attack and artillery in Unity and Upper Nile states.
South Sudan’s army and rebels have accused each other of breaching a ceasefire, only hours after it was meant to come into effect
A deal to end the five-month conflict was signed on Friday in Ethiopia.
At the signing ceremony in Addis Ababa, President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar met face-to-face for the first time since hostilities broke out and agreed to halt fighting within 24 hours.
But in a statement issued on Sunday, rebel military spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said the reported violations showed “that Kiir is either insincere or not in control of his forces.”
For the army, spokesman Philip Aguer said the rebel attacks in Bentiu had been repelled.
There has been no independent verification of either side’s claims.
A previous deal, made in January, collapsed in days, with each side accusing the other of breaching terms.
Earlier, the UN called on both sides to facilitate deliveries of emergency aid to a population in danger of mass hunger.
The UN estimates that some 5 million of South Sudan’s citizens are in need. At least 1.5 million have been displaced and thousands of people have been killed.
Toby Lanzer, the UN’s top aid official in the region, said roads and rivers must be opened for emergency relief.
The hope had been that the ceasefire would pave the way for the creation of a transitional government, the drafting of a new constitution and fresh elections.
The UN has accused both the South Sudanese government and the rebels of crimes against humanity, including mass killings and gang-rape.
The violence began when President Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.
Riek Machar denied the allegation, but then marshaled a rebel army to fight the government.
The battle assumed ethnic overtones, with Riek Machar relying heavily on fighters from his Nuer ethnic group and Salva Kiir from his Dinka community.
South Sudan gained independence in 2011, breaking away from Sudan after decades of conflict between rebels and the Khartoum government.
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South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have signed a peace deal after a five-month conflict.
The deal calls for an immediate truce and the formation of a transitional government ahead of the drafting of a new constitution and new elections.
The conflict in the world’s newest state has left thousands dead and more than one million homeless.
A ceasefire agreed in January collapsed within days, with both sides accusing each other of restarting the fighting.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday’s agreement “could mark a breakthrough for the future of South Sudan”.
Salva Kiir and Riek Machar signed the deal in Addis Ababa, after their first face-to-face meeting since the hostilities began
The UN has accused both the South Sudanese government and the rebels of crimes against humanity, including mass killings and gang-rape.
The rivals signed the deal in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa late on Friday, after their first face-to-face meeting since the hostilities began.
The agreement calls for a cessation of hostilities within 24 hours of the signing. A permanent ceasefire will then be worked on.
Salva Kiir and Riek Machar are to issue immediate orders for troops to end combat and to allow in humanitarian aid.
It was not immediately clear who would form the transitional administration.
The deal was also signed by Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn, who hosted the talks.
Leading mediator Seyoum Mesfin, from the regional Igad bloc, congratulated Salva Kiir and Riek Machar for “ending the war”.
However, African Union official Smail Chergui warned that “given the current crisis, the restoration of peace in South Sudan will not be easy”.
A UN report released on Thursday said that “widespread and systematic” atrocities had been carried out by both sides in homes, hospitals, mosques, churches and UN compounds.
It called for those responsible to be held accountable.
An estimated five million people are in need of aid, the UN says.
The violence began when President Salva Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.
Riek Machar denied the allegation, but then marshaled a rebel army to fight the government.
The battle assumed ethnic overtones, with Riek Machar relying heavily on fighters from his Nuer ethnic group and Salva Kiir from his Dinka community.
The UN has about 8,500 peacekeepers in South Sudan. However, they have struggled to contain the conflict.
South Sudan gained independence in 2011, breaking away from Sudan after decades of conflict between rebels and the Khartoum government.
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Government and rebels in South Sudan have signed a ceasefire agreement after talks in Ethiopia.
Under the deal, signed in a hotel in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the fighting is due to come to an end within 24 hours.
In the past week, government forces have recaptured the two main cities under rebel control.
More than 500,000 people have been forced from their homes during the month-long conflict.
“These two agreements are the ingredients to create an environment for achieving a total peace in my country,” said Taban Deng, head of the rebel delegation, AFP reports.
However, the South Sudanese government has expressed skepticism over whether the opposition will be able to control all the militias involved in fighting.
The talks have now been adjourned and are due to continue on February 7.
What started out as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his former deputy Riek Machar on December 15 escalated into full-scale conflict, with reports of ethnic killings.
South Sudan’s government and rebels have signed a ceasefire agreement after talks in Ethiopia
A ceremony to mark the signing of the agreement on the “cessation of hostilities and the question of the detainees” took place at the hotel where the talks were hosted.
The agreement is thought to address the issue of 11 detainees whom the rebels wanted freed, and whose fate had previously left the talks deadlocked.
The detainees – allies of Riek Machar and prominent political figures from a faction of the governing SPLM party – were taken into custody when Salva Kiir first made the allegations of an attempted coup – which Machar denies.
The South Sudanese government had earlier said on its Twitter feed that it envisaged an amnesty for the detainees but only after their cases had been heard in court.
Another key rebel demand was for Ugandan troops fighting alongside the government forces to be withdrawn.
Last week, the UN human rights chief said both government soldiers and rebels had committed atrocities in South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries.
More than 70,000 civilians are seeking shelter at UN bases across South Sudan and the UN estimates that considerably more than 1,000 have been killed.
Following the outbreak of hostilities, it was agreed to boost the UN force and an extra 5,500 peacekeepers are being deployed to South Sudan, to bring its strength up to 12,500.
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Kenya is holding a meeting of East Africa’s leaders on growing violence in South Sudan, where more than 1,000 people are believed to have died.
The talks come a day after South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit met the Kenyan president and Ethiopian PM.
Meanwhile, the UN said the first peacekeeping reinforcements were expected to arrive in 48 hours.
South Sudan violence erupted 12 days ago between forces loyal to Salva Kiir and those backing his ex-deputy Riek Machar.
Kenya talks come a day after South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit met the Kenyan president and Ethiopian PM in Juba
The fighting has forced more than 100,000 to flee their homes, with about 60,000 seeking refuge at UN compounds across the country, UN officials say.
East African regional leaders from the eight-member bloc, known as IGAD, are meeting in Kenya’s capital Nairobi to follow up on issues raised during Thursday’s talks with President Salva Kiir in South Sudan’s capital Juba.
Salva Kiir met Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn. The talks were described by Ethiopia as “very constructive and very candid”.
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New evidence is emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of fighting in South Sudan.
The violence follows a power struggle between President Salva Kiir Mayardit, a Dinka, and his Nuer ex-deputy Riek Machar.
A reporter in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly from the Nuer ethnic group, were shot by security forces.
Another man in Juba said gunmen from the majority Dinka ethnic group were shooting people in Nuer areas.
The fighting first erupted in Juba last week and has spread throughout South Sudan, with rebels supporting Riek Machar seizing the major towns of Bor and Bentiu, north of the capital.
Bentiu is the capital of the oil-producing Unity State.
New evidence is emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of fighting in South Sudan
Salva Kiir has accused Riek Machar, who he sacked in July, of plotting a coup. Riek Machar denies he is trying to seize power, while the government has denied it is behind any ethnic violence.
The fear is that the personal rivalry between the former allies will spark a full-scale conflict between the Nuer and Dinka groups.
The official death toll stands at 500, but aid agencies say the true figure is likely to be much higher.
There has also been fighting in Upper Nile State but few details have emerged.
Another 81,000 people have been displaced, the UN’s humanitarian agency says, with about half seeking shelter at UN bases.
President Salva Kiir has said he is willing to hold talks with Riek Machar – and that a delegation of East African foreign ministers had offered to mediate – but that his former deputy would have to come to the table without any conditions.
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South Sudan’s Vice-President Riek Machar has said rebel troops have captured the key oil-producing state of Unity and control much of the country.
Riek Machar also confirmed that the forces fighting the government were under his command.
South Sudan has been in turmoil since President Salva Kiir Mayardit accused Riek Machar a week ago of attempting a coup.
At least 500 people have been killed since the fighting began with the government struggling to keep control of the capital, Juba.
Riek Machar’s comments came as four US service personnel involved in evacuating US citizens were wounded when their aircraft were shot at in Bor, the capital of eastern Jonglei state.
World Christian leaders have called for a ceasefire in South Sudan, where the population is mainly animist or Christian.
South Sudan’s rebel troops have captured the key oil-producing state of Unity and control much of the country
The Vatican and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, issued a joint statement calling for the country’s weak and poor to be “spared the trauma of conflict”.
“Let us not yield to fratricidal tendencies in the name of our ethnic differences (which is what God created us to be),” they said.
Riek Machar, whose claim to control Unity could not be independently verified, said that a senior military commander, General James Koang, had gone over to the rebels earlier in the week.
However, government forces say James Koang defected alone and did not take any troops with him.
Unity, a state on the border with Sudan, produces much of South Sudan’s oil, which accounts for more than 95% of the country’s economy.
Riek Machar added that he was prepared to negotiate with the government if politicians arrested this week were released and transferred to a neutral country such as Ethiopia.
Salva Kiir also agreed to negotiations after meeting African mediators on Friday.
But government troops are currently trying to retake Bor, in one of the most volatile regions in the country.
Troops backed by helicopter gunships were advancing on the town, army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP news agency.
A spokesman for UN peacekeepers Unmiss in Bor said considerable numbers of people had arrived over the past 24 hours from surrounding areas seeking their protection.
Rebels in South Sudan have taken over the key town of Bor, the military has said, as fighting continues after Sunday’s reported coup attempt.
“Our soldiers have lost control of Bor to the force of Riek Machar,” said army spokesman Philip Aguer.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit has accused Riek Machar, the former vice-president, of plotting a coup – a claim he denies.
The unrest, which began in the capital Juba, has killed some 500 people and sparked fears of widespread conflict.
Since independence, several rebel groups have taken up arms and one of these is said to have been involved in the capture of Bor.
The UN estimates 20,000 people have taken refuge in UN compounds in South Sudan’s capital
The UN has expressed concern about a possible civil war between the country’s two main ethnic groups, the Dinka of Salva Kiir and the Nuer of Riek Machar.
The organization has called for political dialogue to end the crisis, and the Ugandan government says its president has been asked by the UN to mediate between the two sides.
The UN peacekeeping mission says it is sheltering civilians in five state capitals, including Juba, Bor and Bentiu, the main town of the oil-producing state of Unity.
The US and The UK have both sent planes to airlift their nationals out of the country, and a US defense official described the situation as “getting ugly”.
Bor is the capital of Jonglei state, and even before the current unrest, it was seen as one of the most volatile areas of South Sudan.
Overnight there were reports of gun battles in the town, as renegade officers fought with troops still loyal to President Salva Kiir.
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Up to 500 people are believed to have died in clashes between rival South Sudan army factions, the UN says, quoting unconfirmed reports.
UN diplomats said they had been told by sources in the capital, Juba, that the death toll was between 400 and 500.
South Sudan has seen two days of clashes following a reported coup attempt against President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Fugitive opposition leader Riek Machar has denied government accusations that he tried to seize power.
“What took place in Juba was a misunderstanding between presidential guards within their division, it was not a coup attempt,” he told the Sudan Tribune, a Paris-based news website, in an interview published on Wednesday.
Riek Machar, a former South-Sudanese vice-president who fell out with President Salva Kiir in July, said he had no knowledge of or connection with any coup attempt.
President Salva Kiir has said a group of soldiers supporting Riek Machar had tried to take power by force on Sunday night, but were defeated.
Amid continuing clashes on Monday and Tuesday, the government said 10 senior political figures, including a former finance minister, had been arrested.
Details of the fighting have been sketchy, but a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday was told that the clashes were “apparently largely along ethnic lines”.
Up to 500 people are believed to have died in clashes between rival South Sudan army factions
French UN ambassador Gerard Araud, who holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, said up to 20,000 people had taken refuge in the UN mission in Juba.
He said the council had received only “patchy information” in a briefing given by UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous.
The governor of Unity State, Simon Kun Pouch, was quoted on the government website as saying that the conflict had nothing to do with tribes.
“There are people out there saying what has happened is between the Dinka and the Nuer tribesmen. We the leaders of this country would want to state here that this is not true,” he said.
“If you see the people going with Dr. Riek [Machar], some are Dinkas, some are Chol, Nuer and other tribes,” he added.
The US has ordered all its non-emergency embassy staff to leave the country immediately.
President Salva Kiir said the clashes began when uniformed personnel opened fire at a meeting of the governing party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Fighting then continued into Monday when the government said it was back in full control.
However, fresh gunfire erupted on Tuesday near the presidential palace and many other areas of Juba.
Government officials say they are hunting for Riek Machar, who is believed to be in hiding.
Riek Machar – who leads a dissident faction within the SPLM – was thought to have escaped with some troops.
On Tuesday, the government said former Finance Minister Kosti Manibe, former Justice Minister John Luk Jok and former Interior Minister Gier Chuang Aluong were among the 10 people arrested.
Many were members of the cabinet that was sacked in its entirety in July.
South Sudan has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent from Sudan in 2011.
The independence referendum was intended to end a decade-long conflict, led by the SPLM, against the north.
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South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has announced that an attempted coup by soldiers loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar has been put down.
Salva Kiir said the government was in full control of the capital, Juba, after a night of heavy fighting between soldiers in the presidential guard.
A night time curfew has been put in place and a number of arrests have reportedly been made.
Several people were reported injured and hundreds have fled to a US base.
Hilde Johnson, the UN’s special representative in South Sudan, said she was “deeply concerned” and urged “all parties in the fighting to cease hostilities immediately and exercise restraint”.
“I have been in touch regularly with the key leaders, including at the highest levels to call for calm,” she said.
The fighting in Juba broke out overnight, and intensified in the early morning, with reports of continuous gunfire and several explosions.
The city’s airport has been closed and the state TV channel SSTV went off air for several hours.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has announced that an attempted coup by soldiers loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar has been put down
Shortly after it came back on air, SSTV broadcast an address from Salva Kiir, wearing military uniform rather than his usual civilian clothing and flanked by government officials.
He said the violence “was an attempted coup”, but that the government was now in full control and the attackers were being chased down.
Salva Kiir said the fighting began when unidentified uniformed personnel opened fire at a meeting of SPLM, followed by an attack on army headquarters near the university carried out “by a group of soldiers allied to the former vice-president Dr. Riek Machar and his group”.
“I will not allow or tolerate such incidents once again in our new nation. I strongly condemn these criminal actions in the strongest terms possible,” the president said, vowing those responsible would be have to stand “before the appropriate law institution”.
The ruling party, former rebel force the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), would never allow power to be transferred by force, he said.
He announced a curfew would be in place every night between 18:00 and 06:00, beginning on Monday.
“Rest assured that the government is doing all it can to make sure that citizens are secured and safe.”
Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told the Associated Press that some soldiers had tried to raid the weapons store at the main military based in the capital, but were repulsed.
He said some politician had since been arrested.
Riek Machar has not commented and his whereabouts are unclear. But his spokesman said he was safe and denied reports he had been arrested.
South Sudan – the world’s youngest country and one of the least developed – has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent from Sudan in 2011. The independence referendum was intended to end a decades-long conflict, led by the SPLM, against the north.
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Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir have met for the first time since a border dispute brought their countries close to conflict in April.
Omar al-Bashir sat down with Salva Kiir during an African Union summit in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
South Sudan only became independent from the north at the end of 2011 and numerous issues remain unresolved between the two countries.
A United Nations deadline for them to settle the dispute is set for 2 August.
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir meet for the first time since border dispute
Among other issues, their border has not been finalized and there are disagreements over oilfields, transport payments and divisions of the national debt.
No information has been released about what the two presidents spoke about during their meeting in Addis Ababa, but they shook hands publicly for the first time at the end of it.
The last official talks between Presidents Salva Kiir and Omar al-Bashir were at the previous AU summit in January.
At this summit, AU delegates urged the governments in Khartoum and Juba to settle their differences on oil and border demarcation before the UN’s deadline.
The UN introduced its three-month deadline after cross-border clashes centred on the oil-rich region of Heglig brought Sudan and South Sudan close to all-out war in April.
South Sudan’s independence in July 2011 was supposed to herald the end of more than 50 years of bitter conflict between the two Sudans, but tensions have lingered.
Saturday’s meeting between the two leaders is unlikely to yield any immediate results, but it at least shows the two countries are feeling the pressure to resolve their dispute.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir says Sudan has “declared war” on his country, following weeks of fighting along their common border.
President Salva Kiir was speaking in China, which is a major buyer of oil from both countries, but has long been an ally of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir.
Meanwhile, Sudanese warplanes conducted multiple bombing raids against Southern border regions in the early morning.
The raids followed a fatal bombing near the border town of Bentiu on Monday.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack, in which a market was bombed, killing at least one person and injuring many others.
The latest attacks hit the towns of Panakwatch and Lalop, and the Teshwin border post, the AFP news agency reported.
South Sudan became independent last year, following decades of conflict.
There have been tense relations since then, primarily over the division of oil reserves and the full definition of borders.
Salva Kiir was speaking as he met Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing, after arriving there on Monday for a five-day visit.
South Sudanese president said his visit came “at a very critical moment for the Republic of South Sudan because our neighbor in Khartoum has declared war on the Republic of South Sudan”.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir says Sudan has "declared war" on his country, following weeks of fighting along their common border
Salva Kiir called China one of his country’s “economic and strategic partners”.
Chinese state television quoted Hu Jintao as urging calm and restraint on both Sudans.
Sudan has made no formal declaration of war, but analysts say Salva Kiir is clearly escalating the war of words.
Beijing has urged an end to the recent hostilities, during which Southern forces occupied Sudan’s most important oil field, in the Heglig area, saying it belonged to the South.
South Sudan says its forces withdrew from Heglig after two weeks, but Sudan says it expelled them, killing 1,000 soldiers.
Omar al-Bashir says he will not negotiate with the South and has vowed to continue military action until all Southern troops and their allies are out of Sudan.
On Monday, Ban Ki-moon called on Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir “to stop the slide toward further confrontation and… to return to dialogue as a matter of urgency”.
US President Barack Obama has said both countries “must have the courage” to return to the negotiating table and resolve their differences peacefully.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said on Tuesday that oil was “the economic lifeline for both countries”.
Liu Weimin added: “To maintain the stability and sustainability of the oil cooperation is consistent with the fundamental interests of both countries. It is also consistent with the interests of Chinese enterprises and their partners.
“We hope the oil negotiation between Sudan and South Sudan will make progress and [the two countries] will find a solution that both of them and other sides involved can accept.”
In January, South Sudan shut down oil production, which provides 98% of its revenue, after Khartoum impounded South Sudanese oil shipments amid a dispute over transit fees.
South Sudan took most of the former united Sudan’s oil reserves when it became independent but relies on pipelines to seaports in Sudan to export it.
South Sudan voted overwhelmingly in favor of secession in a January 2011 referendum, leading to independence six months later.
George Clooney has been now released after being arrested for civil disobedience during a demonstration outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington DC on Friday.
George Clooney, 50, was taking part in a protest to warn of a humanitarian crisis in the volatile border area between Sudan and South Sudan.
The actor was detained alongside his father, Nick Clooney, but both have now been released after paying bail of $100.
George Clooney is a keen Sudan activist and has visited the area several times.
South Sudan celebrated its independence from Sudan in 2011, but relations between the two neighbors have worsened since then.
The country is one of the world’s poorest regions and has hardly any roads, railways, schools or clinics as a result of two decades of conflict leading up to independence from Sudan in July 2011.
Bitter disagreements remain over oil resources and borders, with conflict raging in the border region – the focus for George Clooney’s concern.
Speaking to reporters following his release, George Clooney said his key concern was the fate of those in the region.
George Clooney was detained alongside his father, Nick , but both have now been released after paying bail of $100
“Best estimate is tens of thousands of people are going to die from starvation… this isn’t a famine, this is a man-made tragedy by the government of Khartoum to get these people to leave.”
“You never know if you are accomplishing anything… We hope it helps,” George Clooney said.
The actor said the arrest was his first, but added: “Let’s hope it’s my last.”
George Clooney, his father Nick and fellow activists had been led away in handcuffs after reportedly ignoring repeated police warnings to leave the embassy grounds.
He was released three hours later after paying the bail fee.
Secret Service spokesman George Oglivie explained how the arrest unfolded: “George Clooney was arrested for crossing a police line at the Sudan embassy and he’ll be transported to the Metropolitan police department second district.”
Also arrested, said George Oglivie, were Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader; Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern; Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran; and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Ben Jealous.
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South Sudan officials announced that at least 40 people have been killed by armed gunmen in a cattle raid in Warrap state.
According to other reports as many as 100 people could have been killed in the attack on a camp in Warrap state.
South Sudan’s interior minister accused the Sudanese government in Khartoum of arming the attackers, a militia group from Unity State, AFP reports.
Tensions remain high since South Sudan seceded peacefully from Sudan in July after decades of war.
An official in Warrap state told the Paris-based Sudan Tribune newspaper that villages belonging to the Luac Jang ethnic group in Tong East county came under attack early on Saturday.
Madot Dut Deng, speaker of the state assembly, said he had been told by officials that more than 76 people had been killed, with several unaccounted for.
Another state official told the newspaper that local people spoke of as many as 100 people killed.
Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya said the attack was carried out by a militia group from neighboring Unity state.
“This militia group was armed by the government of Khartoum,” he said, but could not name the specific group responsible, AFP reports.
“The number of wounded is still not clear, but they took a lot of cattle with them,” Alison Manani Magaya added.
Rebels in South Kordofan region announced they are holding 29 Chinese workers who became caught up in a battle with the Sudanese army.
The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said the workers are safe and “in good health”.
China’s foreign ministry confirmed that some of their nationals were missing, but did not specify how many.
South Kordofan is one of three areas hit by conflict since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July.
Abyei and Blue Nile along with South Kordofan lie along the loosely demarcated border between Sudan and South Sudan.
The Chinese nationals are reported to have been working on road construction projects in the area.
“Yes, we have captured them,” Arnu Ngutulu Lodi of the SPLM-N told the AFP news agency. “I want to assure you right now they are in safe hands.”
Arnu Ngutulu Lodi said they were captured – along with nine Sudanese soldiers – after the SPLM-N attacked and destroyed a Sudanese military convoy in the area.
Sudan’s army said the rebels had attacked the compound of a Chinese construction company and captured 70 civilians.
“Most of them are Chinese. They are targeting civilians,” army spokesman Sawarmi Khalid Saad told Reuters news agency.
He said the army had launched an operation to rescue them.
At least 51 people, mostly women and children, have been killed by gunmen during the latest clashes in South Sudan’s troubled Jonglei state, according to regional governor Kuol Manyang.
At least 22 others were injured after attackers raided and burned the village of Duk Padiet, governor Kuol Manyang added.
All wounded people have been evacuated to Juba, the capital, he said.
A series of attacks between ethnic groups in the region has displaced tens of thousands of people.
“We are expecting more to be injured because they ran to the villages last night,” Kuol Manyang said.
Officials told AFP news agency the killings were carried out by the Murle group on the Lou Nuer as revenge for an attack last month on the village of Pibor.
The cycle of violence has lasted months and killed hundreds of people. It began as cattle raids but has spiraled out of control.
17 South Sudanese civilians have been killed during air raids by Sudan’s military, an official said.
South Sudan’s military spokesman Philip Aguer said those killed were cattle herders in West Bahr al-Ghazal state – further west than other recent clashes.
Sudan has denied the allegations but Col. Philip Aguer said no other power in the region could carry out the bombing.
The south seceded from Sudan in July but there have been numerous clashes along their common border.
17 South Sudanese civilians have been killed during air raids by Sudan's military
The UN estimates that several hundred thousand people have been displaced by fighting in the border areas of South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Unity state.
“This [attack in West Bahr al-Ghazal] is a hostile aggression that Khartoum has been conducting against the civilian population,” Col. Philip Aguer told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
Sudan’s army had also bombed areas in Unity state since Wednesday, he said.
It wanted to draw up the north-south boundary by force and annex Unity state because it was rich in oil, Col. Philip Aguer said.
Pro-northern and southern groups have clashed in the past in West Bahr al-Ghazal state over grazing and water rights.
Sudan’s army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad denied they had carried out the air strikes, the AFP news agency reports.
“This information is completely incorrect,” he is quoted as saying.
Sawarmi Khaled Saad said South Sudan was, in fact, amassing troops in Unity state to launch attacks across the border.
Both countries accuse each other of backing rebels operating in their territory.
Sudan’s foreign ministry spokesman Al-Obeid Meruh said that 350 members of a Darfur-based rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had crossed into South Sudan on Wednesday, AFP reports.
He said the international community should put pressure on South Sudan’s government “to stop supporting these troops and disarm them”, AFP reports.
JEM’s leader Khalil Ibrahim was killed a few days ago by Sudanese government forces.
Sudan’s army said he had been killed in fighting as he tried to cross into South Sudan, but JEM said he died in an air strike.
Various mediation efforts to end the conflict in Darfur, and to ease tension between Sudan and South Sudan, have so far failed, analysts say.
