South Sudan Tells Soldiers to Stop Fighting-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:08.84]this is In the News. [00:10.74]The government of South Sudan [00:13.64]has told its soldiers [00:15.49]to stop fighting government opponents. [00:18.16]The move is part of an effort to end violence [00:22.12]that began after a dispute [00:24.34]between the country's president [00:26.49]and former vice-president. [00:28.95]The government's announcement [00:31.01]came after leaders of other countries [00:33.60]in the area met to urge the two sides [00:36.66]to stop the violence. [00:38.56]A spokesman for South Sudan's Foreign Ministry [00:42.48]told VOA on Friday [00:44.88]that the government's cease-fire [00:47.09]will begin immediately. [00:49.14]It gave the government's opponents three days [00:52.49]to answer the call for a cease-fire. [00:55.33]Violence began in the capital Juba [00:58.93]on December 15th [01:00.71]and quickly spread across the country [01:03.20]after a dispute between President Salva Kiir [01:06.46]and former vice president Riek Machar -- [01:09.64]his main political competitor. [01:12.05]In July, Mr. Kiir dismissed his cabinet, [01:16.16]including Mr. Machar. [01:18.11]Tensions had been rising since then, [01:21.37]but fighting began [01:23.12]only when Mr. Kiir accused Mr. Machar [01:26.56]of planning to overthrow the government. [01:29.32]Mr. Machar denied the claim. [01:31.72]The fighting surprised many observers. [01:34.94]From the time South Sudan became an independent country in 2011, [01:40.17]many feared that the new country [01:42.37]would be at war with Sudan, [01:44.28]the country from which it won independence. [01:46.75]Instead, South Sudan is at war with itself. [01:52.80]The fighting has divided the military in some areas, [01:56.90]and has increased ethnic tensions. [02:00.14]Some members of President Kiir's Dinka ethnic group [02:03.69]have been fighting with Mr. Machar's ethnic group -- the Nuer. [02:07.75]The foreign ministry said [02:09.82]government soldiers have taken control of Malakal [02:13.28] -- the capital of Upper Nile state [02:15.90]-- after days of fierce battles. [02:18.53]Leaders of East African countries meeting in Nairobi on Friday [02:23.12]welcomed the South Sudanese government's decision to end the fighting. [02:27.82]They called on Mr. Machar and others to do the same. [02:31.89]Both Mr. Machar and Mr. Kiir have agreed to meet. [02:37.18]But the government has rejected Mr. Machar's demands [02:40.76]that the government release his supporters, [02:43.46]who were jailed in the early days of the crisis. [02:47.67]At the meeting in Nairobi, [02:50.34]Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said [02:53.31]the detained political leaders [02:55.31]should be included in talks to end the crisis. [02:58.91]"The detainees are part of South Sudan's leadership [03:01.87]and as such are part of the solution. [03:04.01]South Sudan's legal system must process them [03:07.22]as it should while they are treated humanely [03:09.84]and quickly enabled to be an integral part of the dialogue [03:13.89]that will solve the underlying political problems [03:16.71]that have brought us to this unfortunate crisis." [03:19.53]Mr. Kenyatta also urged the African Union, [03:23.41]the United Nations and other countries [03:26.06]to promise more support for South Sudan. [03:29.47]And he said leaders of other East African nations [03:33.99]would not accept what he called [03:36.20]the "unconstitutional overthrow" [03:39.21]of South Sudan's democratically-elected government. [03:43.06]Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn says [03:47.54]he supports Mr. Kiir. [03:50.12]"It should be underscored [03:52.02]that the legitimate government of South Sudan [03:54.73]under President Salva Kiir Mayardit [03:57.77]is the duly elected representative of the people of South Sudan [04:01.91]and it has every responsibility [04:04.55]to restore peace and stability throughout the country." [04:07.70]The United Nations estimates more than 1,000 people [04:11.98]have been killed in violence across the country [04:14.79]since the middle of December. [04:16.73]It says more than 50,000 people have fled to UN bases. [04:22.52]The UN hopes to send more peacekeepers [04:25.56]to the country within a few days. [04:27.85]UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said [04:32.33]the crisis cannot be ended using troops. [04:36.03]East African leaders called on all sides [04:40.01]in the conflict to meet before the end of the year. [04:43.82]And that's In The News, from VOA Learning English. [04:49.28]I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.