Army Seizes South Sudanese Rebel Stronghold in Oil-Rich Region

(Bloomberg) -- South Sudanese troops seized a rebel stronghold in the oil-rich northeast, the latest territorial gain for President Salva Kiir's forces in the African country's more than three-year civil war.

Soldiers overran the town of Pagak on Sunday afternoon, compelling a “huge number” of civilians to flee to Ethiopia's nearby border, rebel spokesman William Gathjiath Deng said by text message. Fighting continues in neighboring towns, including Maiwut, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) away, he said.

Dickson Gatlauk, a spokesman for South Sudan's vice president, said by phone that government forces entered Pagak after the insurgents retreated. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the country said it didn't yet have any information on people fleeing.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than 3.5 million have been forced from their homes since conflict began in the world's newest nation in 2013, with both government forces and rebels accused of atrocities. While much of the initial fighting was in the Upper Nile region, which includes Pagak, violence has flared in the southeast since the collapse of a power-sharing deal between Kiir and vice president-turned rebel leader Riek Machar last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Okech Francis in Juba at fokech@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Karl Maier