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S. Sudan Rebels: Gov't Already Violating Cease-Fire

CBN

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South Sudan rebel forces said their positions in oil-rich Unity state and in Jonglei state have come under attack by government troops.

The news comes one day after government officials and forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar agreed to a cease-fire.

Brig. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, a spokesman for the opposition, called the attacks a "clear violation" of the peace deal signed Thursday in Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Tina Ramirez, a religious freedom advocate working in South Sudan, said the former vice president may realize he was wrong to launch the attempted coup.

"I think in the end Riek will get mud on his face and realize that he was wrong and that the government of South Sudan is a legitimate government," Ramirez said.

"It's not perfect," she added. "But it's a legitimate government and it has the right to protect itself and its national unity."

Fighting between government troops and those loyal to Machar started Dec. 15. Since then, more than a thousand people have died in the violence and 200,000 are homeless.

Ramirez said Christians and the U.S. government need to do a lot more to help bring unity to South Sudan.

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