>> the u.n. is urging south sudan's rival factions to start talks after two of its peacekeepers are killed. [ ♪ music ] >> you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also coming up: the battle for aleppo. syrian's government forces step up offensives on rebels. >> former russian tik on mikhail khordorkovsky arrives in germany

>> sex for sale in canada as the supreme court removes restrictions on prostitution >> the united nations is facing an unprecedented crisis in south sudan. the security council is urging the president and ousted vice president to end the violence and begin talks, and warns the country is a powder keg yet to explode. 2,000 armed youths overran a base killing a dozen people. many are unaccounted for. we'll go the capital juba. first, kath turner in the u.n. headquarters in new york. >> they died trying to carry out the united nations mandate, to protect south sudanese civilians. the bodies of two indian peacekeepers have been flown to juba. they were with 90 other people in the u.n.'s temporary base

when they were outnumbered by 2,000 armed nuer youth. a third soldier was injured. the compound is now empty. staff from the u.n. and international nongovernment organizations have been taken away by u.n. troops and airlifted to safety. there's little information about local south sudanese who ran to the u.n. base for shelter. >> we don't know what happened to the 36 people who have taken refuge in the camp. at the moment we believe 20 of them were killed. it could be 36 of them. >> an estimated 35,000 are sheltering in u.s. bases. authorities are worried about the worsening situation. >> we have 14,000 civilians seeking shelter and refuge. we are strengthening our presence as best we can. >> there are 4,000 u.n. combat

troops in the world's newest country, with violence swelling it's felt it is not enough. the u.n. says increasing the peacekeeping force is not the solution. >> what has to happen is the fighting has to stop and there has to be a political solution. the body is in unchartered territory. >> we are in a new situation with a massive threat. we have to adjust our system, our mandate so we have in particular to bring soldiers from the quiet zones to the zones which are quite dangerous. >> the u.n.'s universally light blue colour no longer a symbol of guaranteed protection. >> the u.n. has a chapter vii mandate. it means the soldiers are authorised to use force.

the attack here is a reminder that in a middle of a firefight mandates are reduced to nothing, but words. >> we are joined from the south sudanese capital. an attempt to get all sides talking. u.s. sent an envoy for that end. >> yes, a lot of people are trying to get the two sides to talk to find a solution to the crisis much the u.n. held a memorial service for the u.n. peacekeepers. i'm joined by hilda johnson, from the u.n. hilda, do you have more information about what happened? >> we have now more information in the sense that we managed to extract all those yesterday. we have knowledge that there was an attack by 2000.

around 2000 armed youth that attacked the base. this is a smaller base, we were going to have reinforcements come in for the dry season. now we are with 43 piece keepers. they were protecting civilians under threat. we had around 30 civilians there. this attack happened like a frontal attack on the base. the two peacekeepers killed, the unfortunately were killed in action protecting and trying to prevent the entry into the camp. we managed to now extract all staff and military, and around 11 civilians were killed. >> what happened to the civilians who survived. where are they hiding? >> it's difficult for us to know. we had to extract our people, and when our team arrived, of course they had left a long time

ago. we assume - we don't really know. we are now in a situation where we need to review where our bases are really vulnerable, and we can face the overwhelming numbers in terms of attackers. we are in need of considering how to protect better our staff and civilians. >> some civilians are wondering is the u.n. capable of protecting them. are you capable? >> in the smaller spaces it could face the number of attackers. there's no way any military contingent consisting of 43 or two platt ons could manage that. it's not possible. what we need to do is make sure we have enough protection in the locations where we are housing thousands of civilians, and we are reinforcing those to make sure we are able to protect

areas. we are trying now to make sure in those locations we have the force and the firepower necessary. of course, what we are also now doing is to convey our deepest condolences to the indian government for its deplorable and despicable act and for the loss of two peacekeepers that have sacrificed their life. >> are you concerned about more attacks on other bases? >> let's hope attempts are coming to a dialogue between the two parties, that that can succeed, and there can be a stop in the fighting, and we will not experience any more attacks. it's too early to say, the window is small. we have to urge good forces to make dialogue happen. >> thank you very much. there you go. a situation on the ground. what happens in terms of the rebel forces, a theory that they

may move to the oil fields and if they control the oil fields, they can cut juba off on the oil and limit the government's economic power. if that happens it will be a big concern for officials here and in the country in general. >> thank you for that. >> there has been renewed fighting in the central african republic. after days of relative calm on friday 37 people were killed in the capital. andrew simmons reports from bangui. >> this is not the time or place for dignity after death. the body of a teenage boy pushed along on a hand craft. gone out to buy a phone card. >> the shooting was intensive. my son died. >> in the bangui security hospital, another civilian caught up in the violence. if this was a normal city, she'd

be in intensive care. but she's in a tent with serious head injuries, accompanied by her sister, and her three children are in hospital. >> we don't have money, we live in abject poverty, what will we do now, how can we take care of her. >> every time there's an incident like this, violence will spread. here a peacekeeping force trying to disarm fighters. the muslim rebels who took power in a coup this year. three of them were killed. in a separate incident a u.n. delegation in a convoy heading to the airport came close to other clashes when christian demonstrators tried to attack peacekeepers escorting military out of the country. the u.n. peacekeepers travelled to bossongoa. they were under threat of attack after seleka forces killed

christians. >> we need troops with the capacity, the logistics to protect the population. >> back in bangui, the french army deployed heavily, trying to suppress flare-ups. a christian militia suspect is questioned. the militia and those supporting it attacked people and property. >> this was a mosque. look at it. it's destroyed by a mob using sticks and their bare hands to bring it down. now graffiti on the walls. this says no to the troops. >> chadians make up part of the peacekeeping force and the former seleka. both are targeted by the christian militia. no one knows the precise number of dead or injured. the fully equipped hospitals of the city are overflowing. >> in syria anti-government activists say forces loyal to

the president to protect a series of targets around aleppo. amateur video showing the damage. the violence continues, so does the international effort to bring an end to the 2.5-year-old conflict. russians and diplomats disagree whether iran should be involved in the geneva ii peace conference. james bays, diplomatic editor, has more. >> a rush in a delegation a came to geneva, a final meeting before syrian peace talks, but a meeting with key issues to resolve. >> does it look like you are on track for 22 january. >> no answer. after spending hours in intense negotiations led by special representative lakhdar brahimi, they insisted, yes, everything was on track. the talks will take place on january 22nd. but later lakhdar brahimi told reporters the presence of one nation was a sticking point.

>> on iran we have not agreed. you know, it's no secret that we in the united nations welcome the participation of iran. our partners in the united states are still not convinced >> ambassador lakhdar brahimi was dismayed that violence in syria was intensifying. he revealed neither the syrian government nor the opposition had given him a list of their participants for the peace conference. he's aware that many of those nighting against the regime are opposed to the idea of negotiations. >> as it stands, it looks like the opposition delegation, whoever is in it, is not going to represent the vast majority of people fighting on the ground against the bashar al-assad regime. >> there is no way that people who come to geneva will be fully

representative. we know that. this is a process. i hope that it will be as representative as possible. >> it's clear the unresolved issues were not sorted at this meeting. will iran be allowed to go to the talks, who will be in the two syrian delegations. there's a lot of work to do before january 22nd. >> still to come on al jazeera - the country where children can't pray, and women are banned. we look at religion and the war in tajikistan

>> welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. the u.n. secretary of state john kerry's representative to south sudan says it pulled out sav from the base after it was attacked by 2,000 armed youths. peaking to al jazeera hilda johnson said they are concerned about other bases. >> 37 have been killed in battles in the central african republic. african peacekeepers and troops are trying to separate forces. >> forces loyal to bashar al-assad attacked a series of targets around aleppo. it comes as iran and the u.s. argue about whether -- russia and the u.s. argue about whether iran should attend the geneva

peace talks. >> chief of staff to the splm secretary-general who was arrested on tuesday joins me now. the violence has escalated to a very ethnic clashes at the moment. it actually started as a political problem, didn't it, when salva kiir sacked riek machar, and most of his cabinet. >> yes, we could go back into what happened on sunday, the 19th, but i believe that it is not - that should not be the point at the moment. what we need to do is avoid the clashes escalating to more of an ethnic issue. there should be a direct discussion among the leaders. that is president salva kiir, and vice president riek machar, and others.

the leaders that liberated the country - they know and have a good relationship with south sudan. they can not look at personal interests, but the country, and decide what to do >> this is what the u.s. and u.n. are trying to achieve. the u.s. sent an envoy from washington to try to get both times together. pressure on salva kiir and riek machar to sit and have talks. will it happen? >> it will. the two gentlemen - president salva kiir, as well as former vice president riek machar, they care about the country. i believe deeply inside the tension got out of hand, a lot of people took advantage of what took place to make it seem ethnic, when it's not. the only way to solve it is through dialogue. >> what about the claims that riek machar tried to oust salva kiir in a coup? >> whether he tried or not it

should not be the source of focus. >> truly it's a focus of mistrust. >> there is mistrust and lives at stake. people have taken refuge all over south sudan. we need to focus on getting the two leaders sitting or the 10 or 11 detained politicians that could save the country. >> if something is not done, do you fear the violence could escalate to the point of civil war? >> if nothing is done, i'm afraid so. >> thousands of people at the moment taking refuge. people don't know what will happen. we saw the u.n. camp overrun by armed youth in akobo. >> we have to try to bring the men known in history to bring

together the country, those that are detained, and the rest, people with good credibility, spl members, we have a lot at stake. we need to release them and get them to the table. countries like kenya and uganda. they went through the 2007 election and violence. they know what is at stake and what could be the tension that creates if not intervene. the ministers are there and doing their level best. at the same time this is not a ministerial problem, it needs presidential intervention. uganda sent in troops. i hoped they'd send in the president. the president should come in and intervene, rather than the troops. what will they do. >> diplomatic pressure. >> exactly, we have a lot at stake. time is running ou. >> thank you for coming on set and explaining it for us. >> now, to spending 10 years in

russian gaols, mikhail khordorkovsky arrived in germany. he was pardoned by vladimir putin in a move that surprised mean. vladimir putin's opponents are questioning the timing of the release. >> 24 hours ago he was a prisoner in a russian penal colony. on friday a free man, on german soil, greeted by the former germans chancellor. the pardon of vladimir putin was signed in the morning. an hour later mikhail khordorkovsky left the prison where he spent almost the last 10 years and flew to berlin and had this message for those a supported him during the 10 years in gaol: >> he was sent to the penal colony in 2003.

his imprisonment was a symbol of what critics here and overseas ais the kremlin's abuse of the judiciary. he was named as a prisoner of conference by amnesty internation international. 50-year-old mikhail khordorkovsky was once the one of the richest men, known as the olly gash's. his company yukos was broken up and sold off to state oil company ros nest after an arrest on fraud and tax evasion. his surprise release seen as an attempt by the president to brush up his image. >> at a time when he is referred to as bad, as an evil leader, he is suddenly attracting the world to himself as a merciful leader who can pardon. >> on thursday at a marathon

4-hour news conference the russian president announced an amnesty freeing 25,000, including the punk group pussy riot and the arctic 30. vladimir putin's surprise decision to free mikhail khordorkovsky shows how serious he is about trying to silence his critics in the west over russia's human rights record, at a time when his country will be under microscopic examination as tv crews and journalists arrive for the start of winter olympics in six weeks time. >> tajikistan has strict rules on how and where people can pray. the government says it's necessary to combat extremism. many feel the laws to control religious activity is an attempt to clamp down on political opposition. >> tajikistan is a secular

country, but religion plays a huge part in government policies. which means bringing students back from unrecognized institutions abroad. >> people who two and study in religion institutions they in here and the government decided to control the procedure. >> like 25-year-old ambujah studying in a madrasa. he attends classes at the tajikistan institution. all teaching programs are approved by the ministry of education, which says it is necessary to avoid conflict between followers of different ideologyies. >> if their parents don't comply and bring children back, they are fine. if they don't act, there are enforcement agencies for that.

>> their governing religion affects every member of society. women are banned from praying in mosques. the parental responsibility act says parents must not take part in religious activity until they are 18 years old. >> dozens of mosques have been shut down. tajikistan is building a mosque set to be the country's centrepiece. >> this is the site of what will be the world's third largest mosque. when completed it will hold 150,000 people. the government hopes it will draw people away from radical places of worship, but critics say it's another way for authorities to control how people practice their fate. human rights campaigners say the moves are aimed at stemming political opposition. the biggest opponents is the moderate islamic party. the only legally recognised

party in central asia. they were unable to take part due to intimidation of supporters. >> these laws, in fact, have a reverse affect. it suppresses people and young men leave the county and migrate to russia. the others join organizations which are banned, to vent their frustrations. >> tajikistan is the poorest of all former soviet states. the government is accused of corruption and poverty is widespread. many here feel the government should focus on improving their lives instead of trying to monitor their faith. >> street protests have been provoked by rising costs of bus fares. demonstrators called for more spending on public services instead of next year's football world cup in brazil. we join the protest march.

>> several hundred people showed up here and downtown. an announcement by the mayor to increase bus fair over 10% in the new year. people are chanting behind me saying money should be spent not on the world cup but education and health care. public transportation should be free. the protests caught a lot of attention over the summer when they started in sao paulo, spreading through the country in rio and other cities. they say they'll continue to fight and the world will be watching as we get closer to the world cup. the protesters promised to keep up the fight. how it developments in the coming weeks and months aha. >> sex workers are celebrating in canada after a supreme court ruling removing restrictions on

prostitution. others are not happy with the conservative government and religious leaders, criticising the decision. >> this was not a ruling on the legality of prostitution. it was a ruling on whether the restrictions imposed by parliament on prostitution, which is legal in canada is endangering sex workers. justices unanimously found they are. they struck down the prohibition of keeping a brothel, and on street soliciting. it means they can take precautions on a safe environment. >> this is the first time in canadian history that sex workers are truly citizens of the country. now we can work in a legal occupation, in a legal manner. laws remain in place for now.

justices can now draft new laws on the community disruption of prostitution, without endangering sex workers. what should replace the laws. a group argues that government should follow the nordic model. >> the government should put in place social and economic supports to women to prevent us being vulnerable. also hold the men who engage in prostitution as brothel keepers and advertisers, and are responsible for their exploitation and - exploitation of equality. >> it's not the position of some sex worker groups. >> it means people running businesses are doing so with client running scared of the law. clients with less to lose and r. they are more likely to be dangerous. >> while parliament decides the

chief justice admitted sex workers will continue to be at risk in canada. >> doan forget you can keep up to date with the day's developments and all the top stories on the website. aljazeera.com. inventory. and an one-on-one with m night shyamalan, on the education gap. this is "real money with ali velshi."