S. Sudan peace talks set to begin

South Sudan's government and rebels were set to begin formal peace talks on Sunday following a night of more fighting that sent more civilians fleeing the capital Juba.

The talks in the Ethiopian capital are aimed at ending three weeks of fighting that have already left thousands dead in the world's newest nation.

After a preliminary meeting late on Saturday, negotiations were expected to begin in earnest at 2 pm, diplomats said, with regional peace brokers struggling to prevent an early breakdown.

The spokesman for South Sudan's government delegation, Information Minister Michael Makuei, struck a confrontational tone by again accusing rebel leader Riek Machar of having started the fighting by attempting a coup.

"His attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government is an established fact, and not only that, but the way the international community is handling it is rather strange," he said, rejecting calls for the government to release suspected rebels who are now in custody.

"They say these people have not committed anything, but why are people dying if there is no offense committed? Nobody is above the law, and whatever you do, if you are found in conflict with the law, whoever you are, you must be subject to the law. This is our position.

"We are being told to negotiate with the rebels. But any rebels who have fallen into our hands will have to answer why he or she decided to take up arms against a democratically elected government," he added.

The conflict erupted on Dec 15, pitting army units loyal to President Salva Kiir against a loose alliance of ethnic militia forces and mutinous army commanders nominally headed by Machar, a former vice-president who was fired in July.

Machar has denied attempting a coup, and he in turn accuses the president of conducting a violent purge of his rivals.

Fighting now grips much of South Sudan - which won independence from Khartoum only in 2011 - with the rebels seizing several areas in the oil-rich north. The conflict has already left thousands dead, according to UN officials, with both sides alleged to have committed atrocities.

Fighting in Juba

Juba was also rocked by heavy gunfire late on Saturday, with exchanges of automatic and heavy weapons fire heard coming from a district in the south of the city before calm returned in the early hours of the morning.

There was speculation that another army unit had defected to the rebels, although army spokesman Philip Aguer said that the government was "investigating exactly what happened" during the night.

Fighting was reportedly continuing on Sunday in Bor, a rebel-held town north of Juba, while clashes were also reported to have broken out during the night in Yei to the south.

After a terrifying night sheltering in their homes, more Juba residents could be seen trying to get transport south to Uganda, adding to the nearly 200,000 people who have already been displaced by the conflict.

Agence France-Presse