South Sudan's neighbors threaten to step in to end fighting
A mother displaced by recent fighting in South Sudan rests on top of her belongings inside a makeshift shelter at the United Nations Mission in Sudan on Monday, December 23. Clashes between rival groups of soldiers in the capital of Juba a week ago have spread across the country. Escaping violence in South Sudan
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: East African leaders tell South Sudan government, rebels to stop fighting or else
- NEW: Group says it will take unspecified action if fighting doesn't stop within four days
- South Sudan's government says it's ready to adopt a cease-fire
- Government is waiting for a response from rebels, official says
If they don't, the leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development warned they'll "take action" to stop the conflict that the United Nations says has killed more than 1,000 and forced some 121,000 from their homes.
The group didn't specify what sort of action it would take. But a communique issued Friday in Nairobi, Kenya, appears to throw the group's weight behind South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.
The group said it would not accept a violent overthrow of the country's democratically elected government, and said any change must come through the democratic process.
Kiir has accused rival politician Riek Machar, his former vice president, of trying to stage a coup. Machar has denied involvement in a coup.
South Sudan's government said it has agreed "in principle" to a cease-fire demanded by the organization, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told CNN.
Leith said Kiir's government is open to "unconditional dialogue" to end the violence.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development appointed envoys from Kenya and Ethiopia to help broker a deal.
Machar hasn't responded to the proposal, leaving it unclear Friday what immediate impact the agreement would have on the fighting.
Meanwhile, U.N. officials and aid workers struggled to protect and provide food, shelter and medical care to those who have fled the fighting, which has spread to seven of South Sudan's 10 states, according to the United Nations.
More than 63,000 people have crowded on to U.N. bases in South Sudan seeking shelter from the violence, requiring a massive influx of aid.
U.N. workers on Friday were able to resupply a U.N.-operated hospital in Malakal, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Toby Lanzer said on Twitter.
The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service also began flying in aid workers and supplies, he said.
Tensions in the world's newest country broke into open fighting on December 15, pitting Kiir's government against supporters of Machar.
Kiir and Machar are longtime rivals from two different tribal clans -- Kiir is from the Dinka tribe, Machar from the Neur.