South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has said he is ready for talks with rival Riek Machar "without preconditions" to end the violence there, the US special envoy to the country has said.
Meanwhile, the US military deployed a special Marine Corps unit and aircraft to the Horn of Africa to prepare for possible further evacuations of Americans from South Sudan, where violence has raged for a week.
Given the intensity of the fighting, the US government dispatched Donald Booth, who is the special envoy for both South Sudan and Sudan, to Juba, where he met Kiir.
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"I had a frank and open discussion with President Salva Kiir," Booth told reporters in Washington yesterday via telephone from Juba.
"Importantly, President Kiir committed to me that he was ready to begin talks with Riek Machar to end the crisis, without preconditions, as soon as his counterpart is willing."
Booth said he met with a group of 11 senior figures in the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement "who remain detained in Juba."
Kiir's government last week announced the arrest of 10 people, many of them former ministers, in connection with an investigation of an alleged coup attempt led by Machar against Kiir.
"I can report that they are secure and well taken care of," Booth said.
"These individuals communicated to me their desire and their readiness to play a constructive role in ending the crisis through peaceful political dialogue and national reconciliation."
Machar has accused Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals. Vowing to oust Kiir, his forces have since seized the town of Bor, capital of the powder-keg eastern Jonglei state, as well as the town of Bentiu, capital of crucial oil-producing Unity state.
South Sudan's army yesterday was poised for a major offensive against rebel forces, as the country slid towards civil war despite international peace efforts.
The UN Security Council launched emergency talks on the situation later yesterday. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the reinforcement of the UN mission in South Sudan.
Ban has asked the Council to approve the deployment of an additional 5,500 soldiers, which would bring the total number to about 12,000. He also wants about 400 extra police to back up the 700 already in the country.
