Fighting Continues in Parts of South Sudan Despite Cease-fire

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A senior U.N. peacekeeping official said Thursday that fighting had escalated in parts of South Sudan, despite a government-declared unilateral cease-fire in May.

"There have been concerning reports of active military operations in the Equatorias and Upper Nile," U.N. deputy peacekeeping chief El Ghassim Wane told the Security Council.

"The security environment remains extremely volatile and South Sudan is in need of an effective and credible cease-fire," he said.

Wane said earlier this month that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan had received credible reports of heavy fighting after the Sudanese army moved toward Mathiang in Upper Nile. He said there were also clashes between government and opposition forces near Torit, in Eastern Equatoria.

"The nature of these operations clearly contradicts the unilateral cease-fire declared by the government," he said.

Last August, the Security Council authorized the deployment of 4,000 additional peacekeepers as part of a Regional Protection Force. They will be based in the capital, Juba, to help protect civilians.

Deployment has been slower than envisioned. Wane told the council that troops from Rwanda and Ethiopia should be arriving in the next two months.