KAMPALA Uganda—Rebels in South Sudan recaptured the oil-pumping
hub of Malakal, a setback to the embattled government's effort to
regain control of the top industry in a country slipping deep into
economic and humanitarian crisis.
South Sudan military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said some army
units had made a "tactical withdrawal" from Malakal following the
clashes.
Government troops were trying to reclaim Malakal from the north
on Monday, said rebel spokesman James Gatdek Dak. South Sudan's
weak government, at war with a rival faction since late 2013,
reclaimed the hub for the country's only active oil fields just two
months ago.
With Malakal again in rebel hands, a conflict that has already
killed more than 50,000 people and sent nearly 2 million fleeing
from their homes looks set to deepen.
The conflict was triggered by an internal power struggle between
President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar. More than
a year of peace talks have gone nowhere, prompting the U.S. and
European Union to impose sanctions on several commanders from both
sides.
The most recent clashes have raged even as Messrs Kiir and
Machar held direct talks in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, where they
"expressed full commitment" to the peace process.
South Sudan's oil regions have seen the heaviest combat, as
factions seek to gain control of the country's strategic assets.
One whole state has stopped producing oil entirely, while output in
the Upper Nile state around Malakal has dropped to 160,000 barrels
a day from 220,000 before fighting started in December, 2013.
The fighting has forced many farmers to abandon their fields and
hampered aid deliveries to displaced civilians. Nearly a third of
South Sudan's 11 million people face a food crisis, the United
Nations said.
The U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network said Monday
that prices of sorghum increased by up to 90% between March and May
in Juba, putting the country's' main staple out of reach for
majority of the population.
"Continued deterioration of macroeconomic conditions is expected
to depress trade further, pushing food and fuel prices upward" the
research group said.
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com
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