At least 29 people were killed in clashes between the South Sudan army and rebel militia groups led by the country’s former Vice President Riek Machar, according to Southern Sudanese Armed Forces spokesman Philip Aguer.
Among those killed were 24 rebels and five army soldiers, Aguer said at a press conference in Juba Monday.
In addition, Aguer blamed the rebels for launching attacks in the north—east, near the Sudan border.
Aguer said the army repelled the attack, capturing two rebels and seizing assorted weaponry before the Machar militias withdrew to the north, leaving the army in control of the area.
According to the spokesman, the attack was led by Peter Lim, a former member of the Republican Guard who participated in the Dec 15, 2013, uprising.
The clashes took place after the two parties signed a ceasefire agreement in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa last week.
Both sides Sunday agreed on a road map for implementing and further developing the agreement, described by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which helped mediate the negotiations, as a “vital step” toward ending the conflict plaguing the young country.
Following recent clashes, IGAD accused both parties of violating the ceasefire.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister and current IGAD Chairman, Hailemariam Desalegn, recently threatened to impose new sanctions on both the government and the rebels if they did not continue with the implementation of the peace agreement.
