An international attempt to end 2 weeks of fighting in South Sudan has failed with anti-government forces rejecting an immediate ceasefire.
The presidents of Kenya and Ethiopia and other African leaders tried to mediate a ceasefire between forces led by President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.
Kiir on Friday signaled acceptance of an immediate ceasefire, and decided to release 8 anti-government politicians who have been detained on suspicion of planning a coup.
But Machar told BBC in a telephone interview that he cannot trust a unilateral declaration of a ceasefire with no system to monitor peace in place.
The tribal-based armed conflict erupted in the capital, Juba, on December 15th, and spread to other parts of the country.
UN officials say that at least 1,000 people have been killed. They say more than 120,000 people lost their homes, and half of them are taking shelter at facilities of UN peacekeepers.
Dec. 29, 2013 - Updated 00:06 UTC