JUBA, South Sudan - South Sudan’s government agreed Friday at a meeting of East African leaders to end hostilities against rebels accused of trying to overthrow the country, but the ceasefire was quickly thrown into doubt because the head of the rebellion was not invited.
An army spokesman suggested the fighting could go on despite the announcement.
At the meeting in Kenya, South Sudan agreed not to carry out a planned offensive to recapture Bentiu, the capital of oil-producing Unity state that is controlled by troops loyal to Riek Machar, the former vice president vilified by the government as a corrupt coup-plotter.
“We are not moving on Bentiu as long as the rebel forces abide by the cease-fire,” said Michael Makuei Lueth, South Sudan’s information minister.
But no one representing Machar was at the Nairobi meeting - a move possibly intended to deny him any elevated status that could slow peace efforts. Machar told the BBC that conditions for a truce were not yet in place.
In the field, the military reported no immediate changes in the battle for control of the world’s newest country.
“We have not seen any sign of a cease-fire. There is no cease-fire agreed by the two sides,” army spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said.
Elsewhere, the country’s military advanced on the rebel-held town of Malakal early Friday and had taken control of it by noon, Aguer said.
Violence broke out Dec. 15 in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, and quickly spread across the country. Ethnic Nuers - the group Machar is from - say they are being targeted by Dinkas, the ethnic group of President Salva Kiir.
The 25,000 people - mostly Nuers - taking shelter at United Nations camps inJuba fear they will be targeted if they leave. Members of the government insist Juba’s streets are safe.
The fighting has displaced more than 120,000 people and left more than 1,000 dead.
East African leaders meeting Friday said in a statement that they “welcomed the commitment” by the South Sudanese government to cease hostilities. The leaders also condemned “all unconstitutional action” to try to topple the government.
The joint statement urged Machar to make similar commitments to stop fighting.
The statement said faceto-face talks between the two sides should happen by Tuesday.
Speaking to the BBC, Machar said any cease-fire had to be negotiated by delegations from both sides and must include a way to monitor compliance.
In Juba’s corridors of power, disdain for Machar is strong. Lueth said the former vice president is “on his way to hell if he’s not careful” and that he could be executed by firing squad after a militarytrial.
South Sudan’s government also said it will not release any of Machar’s imprisoned compatriots, a condition Machar has set for his presence at the negotiating table.
Lueth said that no Machar representatives belonged at the meeting Friday in Nairobi.
“Is it a place for rebels? It would be a wrong approach to do it that way. This idea of trying to equate Machar with the government is not acceptable,” he said.
Eric Reeves, a Sudan expert, said Machar may not have been party to talks yet because he wants to enter any negotiations from a position of strength. Reeves said he’s concerned Machar might try to make a deal with Sudan, which needs the revenue it receives by moving South Sudan’s oil to market.
Machar already has publicly floated the idea of sequestering oil revenue, Reeves said.
“This would be a desperate and vehemently condemned move by Khartoum,” Reeves said. “But the most militaristic and anti-South elements arecalling the shots in the regime. And the [Sudanese] economy continues to implode, without much in the way of international coverage.”
Machar has denied there was a coup attempt, and some officials with the ruling party insist violence broke out when presidential guards from Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe tried to disarm guards from the Nuer ethnic group of Machar.
Machar has criticized Kiir as a dictator and said he will contest the 2015 presidential election. Kiir fired Machar as his deputy in July after a power struggle within the ruling party, stoking ethnic tensions in a country with a history of divided military loyalties.
In a speech at the Nairobi summit, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said there is “a very small window of opportunity to secure peace” in South Sudan.
After a decades-long fight for independence, South Sudan peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011. It has been plagued by corruption, ethnic tension and a power struggle within the ruling party.
Front Section, Pages 12 on 12/28/2013