South Sudan: 'Thousands Dead' In Ethnic Clashes

Mass graves have been uncovered in South Sudan amid evidence ethnic clashes have left thousands dead.

Dozens of bodies were discovered at a burial site in the country's oil-rich Unity State and there were reports of two other mass graves elsewhere.

Violence has flared in a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

The bodies in the grave are thought to be among 75 Dinkas who have gone missing.

Meanwhile, a journalist in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly Nuers, had been shot by security forces.

UN humanitarian chief Toby Lanzer said there was "absolutely no doubt"  that thousands of people had been killed.

His comments are the first clear indication of the scale of conflict engulfing the young nation.

Journalist Hannah McNeish, who is in South Sudan, said: "The UN has said there are over 50,000 people who are sheltering at their bases.

"I just visited one in Juba which has 10,000 people in, and the conditions are horrendous and squalid.

"There are aid agencies already warning of an outbreak of cholera, there’s open defecation everywhere, and these people are also scared – they don’t feel safe."

They say there are men trying to come in to kill them, even shooting through the fence, and there are more on the way."

Britain has sent a senior diplomat to South Sudan to assist efforts to restore peace, as the UN voted to boost the size of its force from 7,000 to 12,500.

Reports suggest that British nationals are among an estimated 3,000 foreigners trapped in the city of Bor, which was seized by rebels last week.

President Kiir said that government troops had now retaken control of the city.

UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the victims discovered in the grave were reportedly members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

She said there were unconfirmed reports of least two more mass graves in Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Juba.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have fled to the countryside, leading to warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

Tens of thousands more civilians have sought protection at badly overstretched UN bases.

At least 20,000 are sheltering at two bases in Juba, and another 17,000 in Bor, capital of the precarious eastern Jonglei state.

"The estimated number of people displaced in the current crisis in South Sudan has risen to 81,000," a UN report said.

"Given the limited access to civilians outside population centres, the number is likely to be significantly higher."                 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned warring factions that reports of crimes against humanity will be investigated.

Fighting started more than a week ago when President Kiir accused his former deputy of attempting a coup.

Mr Machar has denied the claim and has in turn accused Mr Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals.

The country has been blighted by ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty since it won independence in 2011.

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Thousands of Ukrainians stage rival rallies in capital Kiev

By Gabriela Baczynska and Alissa de Carbonnel

KIEV (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Ukrainians rallied in support of President Viktor Yanukovich in central Kiev on Saturday, separated by a line of riot police from anti-government protesters who have camped out for weeks in a nearby square.

A day after talks between the government and the opposition failed to resolve the political crisis, Yanukovich's supporters waved the blue flags of his Party of Regions and chanted the president's name.

"We are here to support the president and order," 18-year-old Maria Nikolayeva said. "Yanukovich is our best prospect at the moment."

Many others were arriving in Kiev for a mass opposition protest planned for Sunday, their anti-government fervour unlikely to be dampened by the president's dismissal on Saturday of two senior officials over police scuffles with protesters.

Opposition demonstrators have been camping since November 21 in Independence Square - now known as the "Maidan", meaning "Square", or the "Euro-maidan" - in protest against Yanukovich's last minute refusal to sign an agreement bringing Ukraine closer to the European Union, in favour of stronger ties with Russia.

The protest has since grown in force and turned into an all-out movement against the president and his administration.

The proximity of rival demonstrators on Saturday raised fears of fresh violence. Buses that brought many of the pro-government protesters to Kiev from Donetsk and other cities in eastern Ukraine - the traditional stronghold of the Party of Regions - were parked in streets around the rallying point in European Square.

"Any conflicts, the most difficult matters should and can only be solved at the negotiating table. People should not be driven away from their work, from their families," Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told supporters.

"Let's tell the people to go back home to their families and their business," he said.

Sergei Bychok, a 43-year-old electrician in the suburbs of Kiev, said he came to the pro-government rally because he wanted stability.

"I got my salary but a lot of people are here because they are afraid they won't," he said in a whisper, referring to wide-spread accusations among Yanukovich opponents that the authorities paid or pressured people to attend their rally.

FEAR OF VIOLENCE

Yanukovich on Saturday dismissed the head of Kiev's state administration, Oleksandr Popov, and a national security aide over November 30 violence in which riot police used batons and stun grenades to disperse the crowd at the Maidan.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka said the two officials could be prosecuted over the violence and the then-head and a deputy head of the Kiev police involved that night were suspected of abuse of power.

The move was seen as an attempt by the president to appease his critics, but falls far short of meeting the many demands of the Maidan protesters. They accuse Yanukovich of trying to turn back the clock and move Ukraine closer to its Soviet-era overlord Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukrainian demonstrators were overreacting to the country's policy swerve to Russia and criticised the West for excessive involvement in the protests.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday criticised EU politicians, such as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who have visited protest sites in recent weeks.

U.S. Republican Senator John McCain arrived in Kiev on Saturday and began talks at the Foreign Ministry. He is also expected to meet opposition representatives.

Fears of violence in Kiev persist after scuffles with police on November 30 and on December 11.

The prominent weekly newspaper Zerkalo Tyzhnya warned on its front page: "The force option...looks to be more and more likely. The close proximity of the pro-authorities masses with the Euro-maidan makes organising provocation much easier."

But in the square, the atmosphere was peaceful. For protesters who had stayed overnight, the day began with early morning prayers followed by an aerobics session led from the stage. Others brought their children or grandchildren into the square on the sunny Saturday morning.

"I'm here for Europe and against Yanukovich. For me it's almost the same because it's the European Union association that is our chance to rid Ukraine of corruption," Oleh, a 22-year-old engineering student, said.

"We will be here a month or as long as it takes."

(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets and Richard Balmforth, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Rosalind Russell)

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