that is president salva kiir, and vice president riek machar, and others.he 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

president sal ca kiir is a d owners val virginia kiir is a loyal dinka, the vice president controls most of the country to the north, that unity province where he and his troops are stationed at the moment. the united nations has said in the past couple of hours only and they are meeting at the security council in new york now that 45,000 people are trying to get protection in their main camp in south sudan. the state department said that all the americans in the u.n. camp in bor were safely evacuated after four navy seals were earlier shot in an evacuation attempt we reported here on al jazeera america. one footnote i think is very interesting, in spite of all the oils that both countries have, south sudan the world's newest nation is still one of the poorest in the world. when it succeeded, there was only 65 miles of paved roads in the whole of the vast country. to give you how big south sudan is, you could fit arizona and new mexico into that country. >> the critical issue is why is this in our self interest? the united states has hundreds of millions of dollars invested into south su

they are meeting with the president salva kiir.eople think or hope that political dialogue is a way to resolve the crisis. but this is nothing new. look at amgoala or mozambique, after getting their independence. maybe something the country has to take the the average civil was want to go back to normal as quickly as they can. this is a fight between two people. we mustn't get involved or kill each other. a lot of people tense. >> now, they intervene to prevent a genocide in a central african republic. french soldiers trying to disarm rebels are accused of shooting dead three of them. former fighters were with the seleka alliance group. they have been battling christian militias forcing thousand to leave their homes. >> andrew simmons is live from bangui. >> we were in the area after the shoot-out. the french army is not confirming the situation but says that there was a clash within the district. the interim government is suggesting that these three men were former seleka and not only that, they were part of the president guard. w

kiir has accused his former vice president of plotting a coup. u.n. officials have deployed uniforms and civilian peacekeeping personnel to south suzanne. japan have sent around 400. they are based in juba building roads, drainage ditches, and other infrastructure. officials with japan's defense ministry say many civilians have fled to the u.n. mission's headquarters. members of japan's team are building sanitary facilities and providing medical care to people seeking shelter. less than three years after its birth, south sudan appears to be descending into tribal violence. jan yamamoto, nhk world. >>> the japanese government is planning to issue less bonds to slash its ballooning debt. ray mean mel guard has more on this. >> thanks, gene, we're talking really big numbers here. the japanese government is putting together the biggest budget on record for fiscal year 2014. the draft budget will total about 95.5 trillion yen, or about $920 billion. the cabinet is expected to approve the budget plan on tuesday. nearly a third of the budget will be used for

what is going onva kiir dismissing his cabinet and his ex-deputies coming back to haunt him? what is going on? >> a contentious aspect is how little clarity there has been over what went down. the president accuses his arch rival the former vice president whom he dismissed in the summer of masterminding a coup. some security analysts think this was an outbreak of violence rather than a plot or coup. there's not a lot of clarity. tuesday was going be key in giving us an idea on how things will unfold. one cannot understatement the powerful image of president kiir in military fatigues, abandoning his signature suit, sending a message that he will not tolerate dissent. dissident politicians, those with a known condition against the president have been rounded up. it's not clear if the former vice president is one of them. his whereabouts is unknown. >> thank you for that. >> a ceremony has been held in north korea to mark two years since the death of kim jong-il. thousands of military and government officials were at the memorial, and is being held days after kim jong un ordered

. >> the rebels are loyal to former vice president salva kiir. riek machar is accused of plotting the coup. he de nice this, but speaking to al jazeera's david foster he says he is ready to run the country. snoom so the answer is yes, you would like it be the next president. >> yes. >> no one knows where riek machar is and government officials seem to be losing patience. >> since he continues with the atrocities against the people, definitely the government of south sudan will not tolerate that. we will not allow him to kill the people. we fall on our hands and keep on waiting for him to accept peace. i strongly believe that after this there'll be no way, but we'll have to move to protect the lives of the citizen. >> there are diplomatic efforts to get the opposing sides to talk. government officials say losing key towns to the rebels is a temporary setback. they say they want exporters loyal to riek machar to take the capital. >> the u.s. and u.n. envoy are in the capital. riek machar makes it clear he wants the president removed, making the req

he said president kiir has committed to begin talks with machar. the u.s. is getting involved on the ground more diplomatically. it is turning into more and more of a mediation. the united states will try and get the two factions together. that is president kiir on the one side and former vice president machar on the other, for political decisions. that is the term used by the senior administration official we just spoke to. >> philip, why has the u.s. become so involved in south sudan. >> this is a country the united states feels very involved with. it was a large partner in its independence two years ago and now it feels there is a lot happening in south sudan where the united states needs to first of all-pro tekotte its own citizens. the united states is insisting this is a mission, and a military mission, to protect its own citizens, staff and ray emery. hat is why there are more u.s. troops going towards south sudan as we speak. 150 marines moving toward a permanent military base in djibouti. they are told it is to protect u.s. personnel and citizens.

president salva kiir, says: >> the army's duties are to protect the areas of south sudan, bring them under the control of the government of south sudan. the army concentrations are on their way. >> reporter: there are fears things could get worse. that's why this woman won't leave this u.n. compound even if things here are bad. >> there's no water. there's no food. when we are hungry here we want to find some food or water. >> officials say tens of thousands of people are crammed into u.n. bases across the country. >> that doesn't include the people who are looking for shelter in the churches, in the can cathedral, in the bush hidi. i've had countless pr word from our staff, that leaving, going back to their villages, hiding out in the savannah is where they feel the safest. >> the camp in juba is stretched to capacity. u.n. soldiers university to live on this side of the base but had to move out and make way to thousands of people who said they are too scared to go home. the violence is taking its toll on people. escalation will only worsen the humanitarian cries i. are al jazeera j

this conflict began as a power struggle between the country's president, salva kiir and his former vice president, riek machar, whom he fired earlier this year. they represent rival ethnic groups-- kiir is dinka, machar is nuer and some say that's fueling the violence. >> they are targeting nuer particularly. i don't know the reason why this specific tribe is being targeted by the government forces. >> brown: kiir-- who led the sudan people's liberation army-- or s.p.l.a.-- in a long insurgency against sudan, urged calm earlier this week. but violence has continued. at least 500 people are reported dead, and 30,000 have been displaced. late today, word came after a u.n. security council emergency session that kiir and his former vice president will hold unconditional talks in an effort to defuse the crisis. with me now is lesley anne warner, an africa analyst at c.n.a., a not-for-profit research organization that provides analysis for the u.s. government and military. welcome to you. >> thank you. >> brown: first we have to remind people, this is a very new and clearly very volatile cou

salva kiir is a dinka, riek machar is a newer. in 1991, in an infamous adrafty, there was a bor massacre. in 1997 riek machar made is peace agreement with the khartoum regime splitting a southern option enabling war in the bentiu area. what we are seeing is not simply a political contest between it riek machar and salva kiir is the breakdown of distinctions between the political, the ethnic and the military. all are involved. we have a forced marching on bor described as the nuer white army. they were responsible for the obviously bor massacre. the ability of uni self and other u.n. agencies and humanitarian organizations to operate will depend on what happens and the course of the next few hours or days. we are extremely close to an explosion. the explosion may occur in bor, and bentiu, but we need an immediate military standout. and the man who can affect that is riek machar, and he has given no sign that he will accept either the unconditional offer for peace agreements or negotiations with salva kiir. nor will he accept either

the president salva kiir was welcomed. they agreed to a ceasefire and are calling on vice president riek machar to do the same. our correspondent is in juba. >> the east african leaders meeting on friday called for both sides to end the conflict, to talk and talk first. they have given them until 31 december to do so. president salva kiir committed himself and his government. they have to be negotiations before the rebels agreed to any truce with the government. he cannot be committed to the government's professed commitment - cannot be confident with the government, commitment to peace talks until there are mechanisms for monitoring a ceasefire. he is saying that he has to see this mechanism put in place before he comes and talks to the government. now, there's only four days to go. there's not much time to put the mechanisms. they have to bet put in place before negotiations with the government. it means these four-day deadline given by the east african leaders at the moment is untenable. >> the government of mali is pre

special envoy donald booth traveled to juba to meet with kiir. he says they are ready to start discussions without conditions. a senior officials said machar has indicated he wants to sit down for talks. the violence in south sudan has had numerous officials to pull about 400 american citizens out of the country. >>> japanese self-defense force troops are helping japanese in south sudan as part of a peacekeeping mission. they are based in the airport in the capital of juba. about 8,000 people taking shelter at a u.n. facility outside the airport last week. sdf members providing medical care and setting up temporary toilets. they have sent water trucks to the u.n.'s local headquarters 10 kilometers from the camp. about 5,000 people were last week taking shelter at the camp. >>> a south defense force returned to japan tuesday for rotation. the u.n. chief briefed the defense ministry returning to japan. >> translator: when we needed transportation we were escorted by armed troops. armed soldiers would ride on either side of water trucks to protect u

and riek salva kiir machar have agreed to talks. riek machar is accused of trying to launch a coup. mediators say that moves are afoot to start peace talks in south sudan. and formeralva kiir vice president riek machar have agreed to talks. talks are to begin on tuesday. machar has previously said he was not prepared to sign any such deal, nor to meet the president. ar said there was no cessation of violence and his forces were advancing on the byital am a claim disputed the south sudanese military. several thousand are believed to have been killed in clashes since the timber 15. some 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. >> the french foreign minister has kicked up a chore of the inek -- a tour of the region west africa. servings committed to along the human mandated force until order is restored. there is been further violence between shiite and sunni muslims. the operation triggered an immediate backlash. hasthe prime minister pledged to withdraw troops from the mainly sunni anbar province. >> the remains of the raman the adi camp, shown on iraqi tv. access to the

the dinga are loyal to salva kiir, and the others to riek machar. their days may be numbered. >> 10 of his followers have been arrested. >> an unknown number of civilians, women and children are among the dead. world leaders are asking the world's newest nation to show restraint. circumstances on the ground are in flux. the south sudanese people are caught in the middle. >> machar has been hiding. he said what took place in cuba was between presidential yards, not a coup attempt. a lot of the tension began because of tensions in the sudan people's movement. things came to ahead last july when president salva kiir sacked a government. his support comes from the dinga people. the vice president was one sacked. machar wants to contest the elections. the president alleges it was supporters of machar that carried out the coup attempt. which machar denied. >> andrew green is a reporter on the phone from juba. >> with a curfew in place, give us an idea of what the situation was like overnight. have things settled down? >> yes, in juba they have settled dow

supporters of riek machar told al jazeera that he want the presidency, and president salva kiir should step down. u.n. nonessential staff and other civilians have been evacuated to juba and have flown to bore. the rebels claim to be in control of bentiu. we are joined from juba with the latest on the situation. >> i'm in a u.n. compound in juba where thousands have fled and are hiding here for safety. i'm talking to a u.n. coordinator. you just came from bor, what was the situation like there? >> in bor the situation was intense. i have come off the phone to my office there. the tension continues. there are squirmishes that are ongoing, and i think that not only the parties who were having this political struggle for power here, but it's armed youth who are increasingly taking matters into their hands in different parts of the jonglei state. it's worrying and we will do everything we can in the united nations to make sure the people that sought refuge, that they will be safe. >> here at the base in juba, how many people do you have and what challenges do you face looking after them? >>

riek machar. >> dinka are salva kiir's forces and riek machar's nuer. those familiar with the area say this is about power. >> there are fears that the conflict could plunge the country into civil war. >> as soon as they were free from sudan, the unity of fighting in the north disappeared, and the issues surrounding their ethnic conflicts and disagreements became more central, and there are historic, serious historic differences between the dinka and tribes at issue here. the president offered to sit and talk with riek machar, whom he dismissed. riek machar has gone underground. a warrant is out for his arrest. none of the people here want to see a return to violence. there is little they can do to stop it. >> south sudan's foreign minister told al jazeera the fighting is not about problems between tribes. >> the tribal war is between the dinka and the nuer. the majority are from dinka and there are others. trying to narrow it down that it is an ethnic war is not correct. i think we should not do that. it creates a situation which is not there. i believ

we can't live like this. >> ifill: the conflict erupted after president kiir, an ethnic dinka, accusedr vice president, riek machar, an ethnic nuer, of plotting a coup. heavy fighting in bor over the weekend prompted the u.n. to evacuate non-essential staff and wounded civilians from its mission there. >> there was a lot of looting. a lot of gunshots. a lot of dead bodies and very, very out of control youth. heavily armed and that needs to be brought under control. >> ifill: rebels in bor also fired on three u.s. osprey aircraft saturday, wounding four american troops as they attempted to evacuate u.s. civilians. civilian helicopters ended up bringing out the americans. on sunday, president obama alerted congress that the 46 troops already sent to south sudan may not be enough. he wrote: u.s. defense officials said monday that more than 100 marines, plus aircraft, are being moved to the horn of africa, in case they're needed. next door, in the central african republic, an unrelated sectarian conflict threatens that country's stability. in march, muslim rebels overthrew the government i

. >> reporter: soldiers loyal to president salva kiir and former vice president machar have been fighting for ten days. an official in juba said the troops and rebels are doing battle in four of the country's ten states. he said more and more citizens are fleeing their homes. >> the numbers of displaced continue to rise, and it is a source of great concern to the united nations. i believe that something on the order of nearly 30,000 civilians from jambalay state have crossed to a neighboring state over the last five or six days to avoid the fighting. >> reporter: displaced people are flooding into u.n. bases across the country. japanese and other u.n. peacekeepers at the main camp in juba are giving them water and sanitation. >> i think over 50,000 civilians taking shelter, and we continue to get more people coming in. many, many have needs, and feel that only in this compound of the u.n. can they actually feel safe and feel protected. >> reporter: president kiir addressed the nation on wednesday, and urged machar to negotiate. machar said he's holding allies and must release them before

president salva kiir says the army is ready to strike. the capital controlled by rebels. >> the army's duties is to protect the citizens. the army is bound by the duty to protect the towns and bring them under the control of the government of south sudan. the army concentrations are on the way. there are fears things could get worse. which is why this woman will not leave the compound, even if conditions are bad. >> there's no water or food. when we are hungry, we want to find food. >> tens of thousands of people are crammed into u.n. bases across the country. >> that does not ipp clut the people -- include the people looking for shelter in churches, in the bush. i had countless phone calls from our own staff members who told me leaving the city centres and going back to the villages or hiding in the savannah is where they feel the safest. this is stretched to capacity. the u.n. they are too scared to go home. >> the violence is taking its toll on people. an escalation in fighting between soldiers and rebels will worsen the humanitarian c

are meeting president salva kiir. there'll be a press conference or statement later. many people in south sudan hoping the country will be a step further to having peace talks that could end the violence that we see now. >> thank you so much. >> still ahead on the newshour. bangladesh's new cyber law which crit. >> insist is the government's way of silencing the opposition. >> critics turn activists. we look at the street protests dubbed the brazilian stream. >> in sport a world record sees australia take the ashes against england. nsh >> china summoned the japanese ambassador to explain why his prime minister visited a war crime memorial. many are honoured at the yasshumi shrine. a lot of regional reaction breaking out over the visit, isn't there? >> well, that's right. this shrine is controversial. any visit by senior japanese politicians will revoke a response. it has done in this case. we have response from the korean, and the strongest response comes from the chinese in a strongly worded statement from the foreign ministry. it says that this action was unacceptab

he is accused by president salva kiir of plotting a coup. he denies this.peaking to david foster from al jazeera over the phone, he said he is ready to run the country. >> so the answer is yes, you would like to be the next president? >> yes. >> no one knows where riek machar is and government officials seem to be losing patients. >> since he is continuing with atrocities against the people, the government of south sudan will not tolerate that. we will not allow him to continue to kill the people. we fall on our hands and will wait for him to accept peace. i strongly believe that after this there'll be no way, but we'll have to move to protect the lives of the citizens. >> there are diplomatic efforts to get the opposing sides to talk. >> losing key towns to the rebels is a temporary setback. they won't let forces loyal to riek machar take the capital. >> the u.s. and u.n. envoy are in the capital. riek machar made it clear he wants the president removed, making the chance of a dialogue difficult. >> later we'll have more on the crisis in sudan. >> anti-gov

and salva kiir cannot crush riek machar sooner. this will be a drag-out civil war that would take longer and longer and take more lives. sitting down, resolving the issues are things that we need to do. >> now an update on the collingwood high school shooting. the taken shot in the head has died. clair davis was critically wounded at arapahoe high school high school. karl pierson had gone to the school looking for a teacher. he randomly shot davis. today the hospital where davis was treated issued a statement saying in part: >> jim joins us if by phone auds arapahoe high school near denver. this is not the news that a lot of people were praying for. >> certainly. everyone was hoping that clair would pull through. it was quite obvious with the severity of her injuries that it would be difficult for that to happen. she was in a coma for the past week. the word here was waiting for other family members to get into town where they could make a decision on life support. obviously that happened now. i'm here in front of arapahoe high sch

president sal =ca kiir is a d owners val virginia kiir is a loyal dinka, the vice presiden >> we're backbreaking down how local police factor into counterterrorism. check out my screen . the senate subcommittee did 13 months of reporting originating from the fusion centers in 2009 and 2010, could not identify a single terrorism threat or a single contribution made to identify a terrorist plot. mike you have read this story. can you name anything in thwarting potential attacks? >> absolutely. as far as that first report that came out in october of last year, there's been a subsequent report that came out in july of this year that kind of addresses many of those issues including the information that was collected and plots that were thwarted, information that was recovered, and just looking back, you know at the last ten plus years of the 45 plots that were terrorist plots that were being acted upon within the united states, we had six of those that were disrupted through suspicious activity reporting. true, a good portion of that is based on traditional joint terrorism task force and local law en

officials say riek machar tried to topple president salva kiir. he is on the run with other rebels. >> they are moving together. they have collected all the cars here, the government cars, the cars of the ngos, and oil limited. almost over 100 cars - small cars and trucks. they moved with them. they are moving, together. >> riek machar denies allegations made by the government. people here have experienced violence before. in 1991 a power struggle between south sudan's founding father and another destabilized the material. forces were recaptured. it's now relatively quiet. people are taking advantage of the calm, going to the houses to solve what they can. then they head back to the u.n. base for safety, even if it means walking past dead bodsies. the u.n. base is packed with thousands - foreigners and locals. >> we are waiting for the security. >> translation: the bullets were coming down like rain. people raided the house and installed everything. the bank was looted. dead bodies over the streets. >> more untraps -- u.n. troops were coming to so

soldiers of the south sudanese army are loyal to the president salva kiir, and are fighting forces of the former vice president. the spla is dinka. riek machar's supporters are nuer. the conflict may have an ethnic dimension, those close to the event say it's about fire. fighting spread to the oil rich states. there's conflicting report over who is in charge. there's fears it could descend into a civil war. >> this is it a crisis and needs to be dealt with through political dialogue. there's a risk of violence spreading to other states as we have already seen signs of this. >> president salva kiir offered to sit down to talk with riek machar, whom he dismissed in july. he has gone underground. a warned is out for his arrest. none of the people here want to see a return to violence. there's little they can do to stop it. >> on tuesday the u.s. state department ordered non-merge vi personnel to leave south sudan and suspended normal embassy operations in juba. plans to get rid of syria's chemical weapons is on track. the watchdog says the arsenal will be transported to a port in syria.

i don't think there is an easy solution to the competing ambitions of mushara and president salva kiir. the opportunity to mediate and resolve this was last year in the early part of this year when the problem was arising and to have it done through the media, through the processes of the political party. that the didn't happen. now, it's now, reviving memories of the 1991 split when he split and made war on the movement. i think it's going to take some international effort and to work out the conditions for ending this conflict. >> you are expecting a lot more violence t sounds like? >> i think there is going to be until there is a process that both have agreed to and that they see that there is going to be a way to address their respective needs. i think, also, the there are -- there should be some consideration of beefing up the u.n. peacekeeping mission in south sudan to provide more protection for civilians and be available to monitor and enforce an end to the conflict. >> what do you think can be done to try to end this will diplomatically at this point? >> the africans, the u.s.

that set off those larry to macah and those loyal to president kiir. and it seems that they have been fighting for position, trying to take over military logistical supplies, larger number being since monday. >> so i have a bunch of issues i want to gety've been able to recruit their soldiers. >> as you know, a history of civil war in the country before south sudan's independence. could we see another civil war breaking out? is it starting to take shape in south sudan? do you have concerns about that? >> i think everyone who worked on the peace accords and trying to restore human rights and respect of law in sudan which involves succes, and security ne restored. >> any civil war to the north, it's not an ideal situation. >> if there is a discorruption of oil production in the south where the oil is located and the refineries are in the north, one >> adote. director at amnesty international. thank you. >>> we're learning more how the u.n. chemical weapons watchdog, they say the most toxic material will be destroyed on board an american ship. however, th

soldiers like to president salva kiir are fighting the other forces. >> the dinka. where's the other is nuer. some familiar with the region says it's about power. it spread to bore in the oil-rich states. there has been conflicting reports over who is in charge. there are fear that the conflict could descend into a civil war. this is a political crisis. it needs to be dealt with through dialogue. >> there's a risk of this violence spreading as we have seen some signs of this. >> president salva kiir offered to sit and talk with riek machar, whom he dismissed. riek machar has gone underground and a warrant is out for his arrest. this country split from sudan after years of conflict. none of the people want to see a return to violence. there's little they can do to stop it. >> now to india. tonight a diplomatic battle playing out between the u.s. and india following the arrest of a woman in new york. now secretary of state john kerry is speaking out about the controversy that sparked protests. >> the international incident centres on a pomman, devyani khobragade -- wo

machar says these are not white army but they are men who has turned their back to president salva kiir. what we know for sure is that there is an impending fight over the town of. >> is there a wider fear that riek machar can be getting aid from his former army to help incite the situation further? >> that's what they're saying. this is from the clan of riek machar's nuer clan. however, on the other side, riek machar says no, that is not the case. now, this whole issue of more fighting not only in and around bor but also in the town of bentir in unity state, says the two sides in the conflict in south sudan to sit down and talk by the 31st of december. now while the government of salva kiir, the negotiations he says these negotiations have to be followed by the putting on the ground proper monitoring mechanisms. before that is done he says he will not do that. >> mohamed ado in juba, thank you mohamed. >>> thousands are continuing to flee the violence in central african republic. over the past five days there has been a surge in fighting in recent weeks despite the presence of u.n. and

to be loyal to former vice president riek machar is locked in a power struggle with president salva kiir. largely from the ethnic group the nuer. mohamed ado is live from the capital juba. what are are you hearing mohamed? >> well, news about the thousands of white army militia marching towards bor, according to government officials these militia is less than 50,000 kilometers. from vice president riek machar but the control of it was taken by government forces a phi days ago. -a few days ago. the white army is called so because of the white ash the men put on their faces. they are tribal militias who come from a subtribe of the nuer community of former vice president riek machar. so far government officials in bor are telling us that government forces have taken positions in and around the town waiting for white army to attack. now the white army has been responsible for most of the volatility and violence in the jonglei state involved in cattle reswrestling, and the spiritual leader told them they will have to attack bor and take it otherwise all of them will go blind. >> controlling t

root of the violent is at a struggling between the president and his former vice president, salva kiir and riek machar. salva kiir is of the dinka tribe and riek machar is of the nuer tribe, there has been a political struggle over the ruling party. when violence broke out there has been a mobilisation of troops. in some cases violence moved along ethnic lines. we hear about security services going door to president needs t make it clear that that is unacceptable. >> given what happened a peace civil war. >> we'll continue to follow the story. good to have you on the program. >> now to london, and that theatre collapse. hundreds were inside when a part of the ceiling gave way. the ceiling was one of chaos, several seriously. it happened at the apollo. theatre goers say they heard creeking noises before the collapse. some thought it was part of the show. the cause of the collapse is unknown. in california two separate tour bus crasheses leave one dead, dozens injured. a police spokesman said it was raining hard at the time that a bus was overturned. it's not clear if that caused a clash

. >> regional foreign ministers met with salva kiir. the whereabouts of riek machar are not known. he's accused of beginning the coup. >> we need to reach out. we need to proceed with the dialogue, and the way out is political solution. >> some say the latest waive the violence is a fight for power. >> unless it is contained now, as a political struggle, the danger of it moving is high. all political leaders in the sudan have supreme responsibility to make sure it does not degenerate into tribal or sectarian conflict. if it does, nobody yet master on how to resolve such conflict. >> an army commander joined the rebellion to overthrow the government. there is fighting in other areas. >> this part of town is normally busy, but shops are closed. people are nervous because they are not sure what will happen next. >> until both sides agree to peace talks many fear the situation could spiral out of control. >> joining us from washington d.c. is akshaya kumar, an expert on sudan and south sudan from the center for american progress. thank you for being with us. you have seen the reports a

the government led by president salva kiir has tried to hold off a rebellion by forces loyal to his vice president. troops are advancing on jonglei to recapture bor from rebels. forces have taken control of unity state, an area with a great deal of oil. we have, to the north and east, upper nile state and from here the bulk of south sudan's revenue comes. >> and now live to juba the national capital. the major battle for the economy is taking place in the north. how difficult is it to work out what is happening at all? >> it's very difficult. that's why some people are concerned. they are not sure what is going on. one side says this, the other says that. the government says they are in control, people shouldn't panic, they should fix the problems. a lot are worried that the violence they see now will escalate. >> the crisis and south sudan is becoming more dangerous. the government is sending troops and tanks to take on the rebels. >> renegade soldiers have taken control of bor and are attacking people. gun higher hit three military aircraft as they were about to land and evacuate ameri

these came to a head when president salva kiir sacked his cabinet. his support base comes from the dinka people. vice president riek machar was one of those sacked and his support comes from the nuer people. south sudan's problems go deeper than ethnic divisions. for more than that i'm joined from oxford in england. talk about the root causes of this current violence and fighting. they started off as more of a political faction than ethnic lines. am i right in thinking that? >> yes. i think that we have to identify two separate, though, related problems. one is within the party, the splm. where there has been a growing concern and criticism and dissatisfaction about the performance of the government and the direction of the party, i saw an open and earlier this year, open debate and criticism that was brought to an end in july when the president sacked his entire cabinet. within the army there's a different problem. a lot of soldiers brought in signs 2005, and especially 2011 were former government militias. former khartoum backed militias and former

both kiir and machar would be willing to negotiate but no concrete talk of a cease-fire or settlemento the ongoing fighting. arwa damon, cnn. >> now looking ahead to 2014, possible change in the balance of power in washington, could that be on the horizon? we'll be taking a look how voters are leaning and what can be done to change fortunes, next. >>> call centers are open again to help people enroll for insurance plans under the affordable care ability. the deadline was tuesday but this was posted on healthcare.gov. sometimes, despite your best efforts you run into delays that prevented you from finishing the process on time. don't worry, we still may be able to help you get covered as soon as january 1st. so, there are some other deadlines to remember here. if you get coverage before january 1st, you have to make your first payment by january 10th. also, you have until march 31st to get coverage before facing a fine. remember, that's just for the people in the 36 states, not taking part in their own exchanges. 14 states with their own exchanges have their own deadlines. rhode island

in south sudan, president salva kiir says his armies preparing for major offensive against rebel forces who have taken the key town of bor. former vice president riek machar says he is ready for dialogue to end the conflict but first he wants his allies released from jail. fighting in the nation has lasted over week after the president accused his former deputy of attempting a coup. the un security council is set to vote on plans to send an extra 5000 troops in to help. tens of thousands of people are sheltering and human compounds. the staff say they are ill-equipped to protect so many civilians. of space every inch used as over 20,000 people take refuge here at the un base in juba. 45,000 civilians are under u.n. protection. they are just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands have fled fled to escape the violence between government and rebel forces. hundreds have already been killed. although the government is keen to downplay the unrest, there have been reports of summary executions and ethnically targeted killings. the situation is of mounting urgency. i am sending a letter to the

one of them is that the president, salva kiir has to resign, and those arrested for the so-called coupt must be released from prison. so it's unclear when these negotiations will start if they do at all. >> thank you very much. >>> and we want to direct you to our website to get the latest there on the situation in south sudan, and the former vice president, riek machaar, spoke to al jazeera from a secret location. you can get more on that interview, and everything that is happening in south sudan on our website, aljazeera.com. >>> in other world news, 85 people have been arrested in egypt after another friday of protests across the country. protests organized by supporters of the ousted president mohammed morsi. there have also been protests in giza and suez where security forces have used tear gas to try to disburse the protesters. >> reporter: we have seen those reports and pictures of the protester from across the country, and everywhere the pattern has been pretty much the same. the protesters have been on the streets, and the police have responded with tear gases to disburse the

troops say riek machar tried to topple president salva kiir. he's on the run. >> they are moving together. they collected all the cars. the cars of ngo, and the oil companies, oil limited. almost over 100 cars - small cars and trucks. they moved with them. they are moving together with them. >> riek machar denies allegations made by the government. people here have experienced violence before. in 1991 a power struggle between south sudan's founding father and another destabilized the community. government forces recaptured bor from the rebels. it is quiet. people are taking quiet from the calm. they are going their houses and salvaging what they can. they head back to the base. even if it means walking past the bodies. foreigners and locals, who are not sure if they want to leave. >> we are waiting to the security. >> >> translation: the bullets were coming down like rain, raided the house. the bank was luted. dead bodies all over the street. >> more u.n. troops are coming to south sudan. people hope they observe soon, and the violence ends. th

president salva kiir's forces are dinka. the man he blames, riek machar, is from the nuer tribe. >> if you go outside they'll kill you >> violence is because of a coup, not ethnic rivalries. riek machar denies trying to take over the country. u.n. officials say their bases have been attacked. government officials have put in officials. >> where the fighting occurred is where the government officers are. that's why the whole government it to get out of the process of the fight and located to run the camp. so they are still fighting on and on. of course, the government has been displaced from the offices. that's why they say we have lost control. there is still fighting going on, so you wouldn't say it is completely captured, because there is still presence. >> in the cam ta-- capital the y is ending. why rivalries could plunge the country into another civil war. >> before south sudan became independent they struggled through a 22-year civil war, leaving more than a million dead. >> after a year of debate congress acted on the

it got worse when the president salva kiir accused his former deputy riek machar of attempting a coup. >> they are suspected also to be involved in the attempted military coup. african foreign ministers met to discuss the conflict. it has not solved anything yet. now the worry is that the violence is turning into a civil war between different tribes. >> the danger of it moving into a sectarian struggle is high. all leaders in the sudan have extreme responsibility to make sure it does not develop into tribal or sectarian conflict. if it does, nobody yet master on how to resolve such conflict. >> until they do, the fighting will go on and the world's newest countries will be one of the most unstable. >> the barack obama white house says the four u.s. service members injured when their osprey aircraft aim under fire are in position. we turn to haru mutasa who is on the ground in juba. >> things are not good on the ground. there are dead bodies on the street. people are concerned about which way things will go. the fact that the army is sending in reinforcements are worried. once they get

kiir said he would attend talk but was not release allies of machar.bridged, you won't see the peace talks which are necessary to sort of head off larger fight organize even regionalization of the conflict. >> ambassador, representatives from the u.s., russia, syria, u.n., all meeting today in moscow, trying to figure out how to safely remove syria's chemical stockpile. syria, middle of the brutal civil war, what do you see is the biggest concern regarding syria in 2014? >> first of all, humanitarian catastrophe that spilled over and affecting so many syrians, you can't imagine the pictures coming out from refugee camps at this point. secondly, the spillover into iraq and the sectarian strife that al qaeda's now resurging as a result of the violence, and let's remember, syria's on the verge of now being split in two between the forces loyal to assad and extremist islamist movement. the situation in iraq is not better as a result of this. just the or day, while we were sending hellfire missiles to help prime minister maliki to fight al qaeda, his forces

president salva kiir and his forces have recaptured the town from the rebels. bentiu and two in juba. our correspondent in washington says despite the vote to send in more troops, it will take more time for the u.n. peacekeepers to arrive on the ground. >> the united states was one of on thiswriters resolution and after the emergency meeting yesterday, held where the secretary-general requested these additional troops, the security council today unanimously supported that. these troops will take time to get on the ground in south sudan. the u.n. secretary-general bank e-mail and said it would not happen overnight. but with the reports of ethnically targeted killings increasing and mass killings and extrajudicial killings, the fear is increasing in the u.n. that the instability will continue. secretary-general told councilmembers today that even with this edition no support, helicopters -- even with this additional support, helicopters, the u.n. will not be able to protect every civilian. is no easy resolution. this is a political crisis that requires a peaceful

president kiir and his former deputy machar. no one knows where machars but he said the that the only way he would sit down and talk with the president is if those who have been arrested and flown to ethiopia and that the president resigns, but the president refuses to do this. the army general said he has join the rebellion and will work to overthrow the government. people are concerned about what is going to happen next. in south sudan. >> secretary of state john kerry has sent an envoy. even as hundreds of soldiers mobilized the united nations is leading the effort to resolve this crisis peacefully. diplomats have been urging south sudan president to meet with his ousted vice president. >> it's a political crisis, as i said you have the political crisis and you have a powder keg which is the ethnic question. the political crisis could lead to a civil war if we don't solve very quickly the political crisis through dialogue. >> an estimate 5th hundred people have been killed in the violence in south sudan during the past week,

the fighting in the country is not stopped to spite the offer of a cease-fire by president salva kiir. rebels say they have recapture the key town of bor in the north of the country after a government assault earlier in the day. a suicide attack in southern yemen has killed at least 3 soldiers. the car bomb was driven to the gritty headquarters. -- security headquarters. police say they averted another suicide bombing and arrested 2 people with links to al qaeda. hundreds of security officials have been killed over the past 2 years as the government fights an islamist insurgency and separatists in the country. finally, 74 people aboard the overwrought australis -- aurora australis are planning to begin the new year in antarctica. the ship has been stuck for a week in at the sacrifice. the latest attempt to airlift the crew and the people on board the ship has not worked. helicopter did take off from an icebreaker, chinese icebreaker a few miles away from the russian ship, but unfortunately extreme weather conditions do not allow it to complete its mission. there have been 3 separate a

loyalties have been split, between supporters of president salva kiir, and former vice president riekachar. the violence escalated when the president dissolved his cabinet in july. he created a one-party state making it impossible for anyone else to be elected president. south sudan is a country in crisis. >> as the violence in north and central south sudan escalates thousands are trying to scope the fighting. government forces have lost control. they are battling to recapture bor. >> there are a lot of people who are now in the u.n. compound in bor town. the whole town is vacated completely. it is only these rebel soldiers who move about in the town. all the bodies have not been collected. we don't know how far, what is the number of the dead. the town is under the control of the rebels. >> the rebels are loyal to former vice president riek machar. he's accused by president riek machar of plotting a coup. he denies this, but speaking to al jazeera's david foster over the phone, he says he's ready to run the country. >> >> so the answer is yes, you would like to be the next president?

the south sudan government led by president salva kiir is trying to hold off a rebellion by forces loyalo the former vice president. troops are advantaging to bor. journalists have been told forces have taken control of unity state. a state key in the oil producing country. >> the crisis is more dangerous. the government is sending troops and tanks to jonglei. rehn gayed soldiers are taking control of the state capital and are attacking people. on saturday gunfire hit fully u.s. military aircraft as they were about to land and evacuate american citizens from the town. four u.s. citizens were injured. in the middle of this are civilians looking for protection. 35,000 are camped out at u.n. compounds. >> bor is strategic. therefore within the crisis both factions and the government forces are using it as a point that they want to dominate. however, even the united nations has become a target. on saturday it held a memorial service. it had been attacked by 2,000 from the tribe. this attack happened like a frontal attack on the base itself. the two peace keepers killed were killed in action

the president salva kiir is attending, riek machar is not. an invitation will be extended to him to attend mediation talks in nairobi, but he's not attending this summit per se for protocol reasons. this, after all, is a heads of state gathering. >> without riek machar there, what chances are there of success, of trying to find the mediated solution. african leaders have been pushing hard. african leaders - european and american leaders, the international community - for east african leaders this is an important gathering, it's important to prevent the conflict from spiralling into an all-out civil war in south sudan, something that could undermine the civility of the region, there's concern that this could spill over across the border. we heard concerns from the north western states in kenya. this is an important push for the african leaders. both sides, and the former vice president laid the preconditions, so to speak. the government wants riek machar to renounce the rebellion. riek machar, on the other hand, wants the political prisoners t