Obama warns South Sudan on precipice of civil war

US President Barack Obama today warned that South Sudan is on the "precipice" of a civil war after violent clashes spread across the nascent African nation where two Indian peacekeepers were killed by rebels.
Obama, who deployed 45 US military personnel on Wednesday to protect American citizens and property, said: "Recent fighting threatens to plunge South Sudan back into the dark days of its past."
In a strongly-worded statement to date on the bloodshed in the world's newest country, Obama warned: "South Sudan stands at the precipice."
Sudan suffered the brutal civil war from 1983 to 2005 that left over two million people dead before the South became independent in July 2011.

At least 500 people are believed to have died in battles that broke out on Sunday, when President Salva Kiir accused his fugitive former deputy Riek Machar of a failed coup.
The turmoil has pitted gangs from the Nuer ethnic group of Machar against Dinkas - the majority group to which Kiir belongs, raising fears of an ethnic conflict.

Recalling the promise and hopes that accompanied South Sudan's independence, Obama warned "that future is at risk".
"Inflammatory rhetoric and targeted violence must cease. All sides must listen to the wise counsel of their neighbours, commit to dialogue and take immediate steps to urge calm and support reconciliation," he said in a letter to Congress.

India's UN envoy Asoke Mukerji earlier said three Indian peacekeepers were "targeted and killed" yesterday when nearly 2000 Nuer youths attacked a UN base at Akobo in Jonglei state.
"We can confirm that two UNMISS Indian Battalion troops were killed in action. UNMISS can also confirm that one injured Indian soldier has been transported to the Mission's medical facility in Malakal," a UN press release said.
The UN today reported 14 separate sites of fighting or civil unrest, many in the troubled eastern state of Jonglei, with 34,000 civilians sheltering in or around UN bases.
The attack on the UN base came after troops loyal to Machar seized the town of Bor late Wednesday, as heavy fighting continued in several sites across Jonglei state.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned fighting could spread. The crisis "urgently needs to be dealt with through political dialogue," he said.
A number of countries were preparing to evacuate their nationals. Britain was sending another flight today, a day after a military transport plane evacuated 182 people, including 53 Britons, to Uganda.
A US plane was also due to take Americans out of the country. And China's National Petroleum Company was evacuating oil workers to Juba.