South Sudan's army and rebels accused each other of sparking fresh fighting today in the north-east, hours before the start of a ceasefire to end a brutal 20-month civil war.
The warring sides traded blame for breaching the terms of a peace deal, brokered by the regional eight-nation IGAD bloc along with the United Nations, the African Union, China, Britain, Norway and the United States.
"Riek Machar's rebels attacked Malakal yesterday (Friday)", and the "assault on Malakal resumed this (Saturday) morning," army spokesman Colonel Philip Aguer told a press conference.
"We want the IGAD to establish the presence of a ceasefire mechanism in all the counties," Aguer said.
"That's untrue, their forces attacked us near Malakal," rebel spokesman James Gatdet Dak told AFP, referring to a strategic northeastern town and a gateway to the country's last remaining major oil fields.
"They wanted to seize the area before the ceasefire comes into effect," he said.
It was not immediately clear if the ceasefire had entered into force today afternoon in the world's newest nation which broke away from Sudan four years ago. Dak said it was supposed to come into effect at midnight.
Information minister and government spokesman Michael Makuei said: "This is of course a violation of the cessation of hostilities of the agreement and it should be recorded."
The rebels repeated the accusation and called for the government to be severely condemned.
"We suspect that their plan is to launch a full-scale offensive against our bases around Malakal. This is a serious violation of the terms of the peace agreement," a rebel statement said.
But IGAD spokesman Hailemichael Gebreselassie disclaimed any knowledge of the clashes, saying: "We haven't heard anything related to any incidents."
The accord, signed by rebel leader Machar on August 17 and the government only on Wednesday, gave a 72-hour deadline for a permanent cessation of hostilities.
Aguer said the rebels attacked Malakal, the state capital of Upper Nile, overnight "using mortars and machineguns" and resumed shelling today.
He said one government soldier was wounded, adding: "Though the army is committed to the spirit of peace and welcome the internationally supported peace initiative, (it has) all the rights for self defence and for protection of Malakal town and the surrounding areas.
