South Sudan says bad regional politics fueling violence

South Sudan on Monday blamed bad regional politics for creating and sustaining the armed opposition as the conflict rages on in the war-torn country.

President Salva Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Xinhua that the divisive geopolitics is fueling the conflict in the country and that home-grown solution is significant to achieving peace in the oil-rich and yet impoverished country where thousands of people remain on the brink of famine.

"It is the geopolitics which is making the opposition to be armed. Why are our opposition armed and yet the opposition in Britain is not armed," Ateny told Xinhua.

He added that foreign interference in the violence will exacerbate the situation and preferred South Sudanese to seek local solutions to the problem.

"Outsiders don't know exactly how to solve the situation in South Sudan," Ateny said.

The arrival of the much-awaited African peacekeepers from the region to beef up the 12,000 UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) troops has coincided with recent upsurge in violence since February.

Ateny said the additional African peacekeepers' mandate will not disrupt the state's cardinal role of securing the country and promised that Kiir's administration would not confront the soldiers but work cordially with them.

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political disputes between President Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to fighting that pitted mostly Dinka ethnic soldiers loyal to Kiir against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 2 million others from their homes, and forced more than 1.5 million to flee to neighboring countries.

A peace agreement was signed in 2015 but was shattered in July 2016 when the rival factions resumed fighting in the capital, forcing Machar to flee into exile. Enditem