South Sudan Ceasefire On The Verge Of Collapse

Al Jazeera: South Sudan ceasefire violated hours after taking effect

South Sudan's government and armed opposition trade blame as 'permanent' ceasefire is violated within hours.

South Sudan's latest ceasefire has been violated hours after it began with the government and armed opposition trading blame.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and his opponent Riek Machar agreed, at talks in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Wednesday, to a "permanent" ceasefire to take effect within 72 hours, raising hopes of an end a devastating civil war.

The conflict erupted in 2013, around two years after South Sudan won independence from Sudan, when Kiir accused his then-deputy Machar of plotting a coup. It claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced four million people and left the newly created country's oil-rich economy in tatters.

The "permanent" ceasefire had gone into effect at midnight.

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Update: South Sudan opposition accuses government of breaking ceasefire (AFP)

WNU editor: Usually a day or two passes before a ceasefire is broken. They did not even wait for that.