Ugandan president threatens to use force against South Sudan rebels

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni threatened Leader of South Sudanese rebels and former vice-president Riek Machar that East African countries would militarily intervene if he rejected a ceasefire proposal from President Salva Kiir. "We gave Riek Machar four days to respond and if he doesn't we shall have to go for him, all of us, that is what we agreed in Nairobi," Museveni told reporters in Juba after talks with President Kiir. He went on to say that the East African countries "will defeat him" referring to Machar. Meanwhile, the government forces are deploying reinforcements and shelter its positions amid anticipation of the huge offensive prepared by Machar's White Army fighters. South Sudan, which gained its independence from Sudan two years ago, has been embroiled in conflict that has increasingly been marked by reports of ethnically targeted violence. The UN announced Monday that more than a thousand people have died and at least 180,000 displaced since the fighting began two week ago, with some 75, 000 having taken refuge in UN bases in the country.