The Khartoum government and the SPLA signed a comprehensive peace deal in Kenya in January to end two decades of civil war. “We know it (the militia attacks) is the program of the government of Sudan because... They are getting logistics from the government of Sudan,” he said. “The SPLA is fighting in self-defense. “They are very serious and that can undermine the peace agreement itself because you cannot talk about peace when you are fighting on the other side,” he said.

Militias were also preparing to attack other SPLA positions in the southeast, Kiir said. He urged the government to take control of the militias and stop their activities. The southern civil war pitted the Islamist government against the mainly pagan and Christian south, complicated by issues of oil ethnicity and ideology. It claimed more than 2 million lives and forced more than 4 million from their homes.

The SPLA’s humanitarian commissioner Elijah Malok said the recent fighting had displaced 250,000 people, though international aid officials said that figure appeared high. Kiir urged donors to come forward with pledges and said the international community was not moving quickly enough to support civilians returning to the south.

“We are not satisfied with the way things are moving. There is looming disaster in southern Sudan — they (the international community) — are not moving fast enough.” “There are not really preparations that have been made by the UN ... because the donors have not released the new money,” said the ethnic Dinka commander.