South Sudan in crisis

South Sudan in crisis

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A government soldier sits on the back of a pick-up truck in Bentiu, a South Sudanese town recently retaken from rebels by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir.

Weeks of fighting, often along ethnic lines, have torn through South Sudan, bringing the world's youngest nation close to civil war.

. MALAKAL, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

The conflict has pitted President Salva Kiir's SPLA government forces, like those pictured above, against rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.

Kiir has accused Machar, a long-term political rival whom he sacked in July, of starting the clashes in a bid to seize power. Machar has accused Kiir of purging political opponents within the ruling SPLM party ahead of elections next year.

Fighting that broke out in December quickly followed ethnic lines - Kiir is from the dominant Dinka tribe, while Machar is a Nuer.

. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

The fighting has been the worst in South Sudan since it won independence from Sudan in 2011 in a peace deal that ended one of Africa's longest civil wars.

An estimated 230,000 people have been displaced and over 1,000 killed over the course of the conflict, with many hunkering down in UN compounds.

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Slideshow

SPLA soldiers pass by the bodies of rebels killed in recent fighting in Bentiu, capital of South Sudan's oil-producting Unity state.
. Bentiu, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

SPLA soldiers pass by the bodies of rebels killed in recent fighting in Bentiu, capital of South Sudan's oil-producting Unity state.

Government soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck in Bentiu.
. Bentiu, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

Government soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck in Bentiu.

An SPLA soldier rides in a vehicle in the capital Juba.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

An SPLA soldier rides in a vehicle in the capital Juba.

A government soldier smokes a cigarette after troops retook Malakal town from rebels loyal to Machar.
. MALAKAL, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A government soldier smokes a cigarette after troops retook Malakal town from rebels loyal to Machar.

A South Sudan army soldier holds a cigarette and his weapon in Bor, 180km (108 miles) northwest from capital Juba.
. BOR, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A South Sudan army soldier holds a cigarette and his weapon in Bor, 180km (108 miles) northwest from capital Juba.

A man holds a shoe between his teeth as he carries boxes of daily produce in Bor.
. BOR, Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A man holds a shoe between his teeth as he carries boxes of daily produce in Bor.

Displaced people carry water containers on their heads at Tomping camp, where some 15,000 displaced people who fled their homes are sheltered by the United Nations.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

Displaced people carry water containers on their heads at Tomping camp, where some 15,000 displaced people who fled their homes are sheltered by the United Nations.

An internally displaced boy waits for water inside a United Nations compound in Juba.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

An internally displaced boy waits for water inside a United Nations compound in Juba.

A displaced woman waits for medical attention at an emergency clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSN) at Tomping camp.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A displaced woman waits for medical attention at an emergency clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSN) at Tomping camp.

A displaced mother watches over her sick child at a United Nation's hospital.
. JUBA, Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A displaced mother watches over her sick child at a United Nation's hospital.

A displaced mother carries her sick child.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A displaced mother carries her sick child.

A wounded child undergoes medical treatment at the general military hospital.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A wounded child undergoes medical treatment at the general military hospital.

A girl with measles sits under a tent at Tomping camp.
. Juba, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

A girl with measles sits under a tent at Tomping camp.

Internally displaced children sit on and around water tanks at the camp.
. Juba, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

Internally displaced children sit on and around water tanks at the camp.

Displaced men smoke shisha.
. Juba, South Sudan. Reuters/Andreea Campeanu

Displaced men smoke shisha.

A displaced woman prepares a meal at Tomping United Nations base.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

A displaced woman prepares a meal at Tomping United Nations base.

Sweat runs down a boy's face at the camp.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

Sweat runs down a boy's face at the camp.

Other displaced people wash their clothes in a drainage canal.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

Other displaced people wash their clothes in a drainage canal.

United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers from Japan assemble a drainage pipe at Tomping camp.
. JUBA, South Sudan. REUTERS/James Akena

United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers from Japan assemble a drainage pipe at Tomping camp.