Officials in Northern Liech state claim opposition forces loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar have attacked their forces near Bentiu this morning and clashes are on-going.

The state security advisor John Maluk told Radio Tamazuj that the rebels have been planning to attack Bentiu.

“Since last week they came here and killed a doctor. So they have been planning to attack Bentiu. We asked them to leave Bentiu but they refused. This morning they attacked our troops in Thorkan, between Bentiu and Nhialdieu at around 9 am,” he said.

For his part, Lam Paul Gabriel, the SPLA-IO deputy spokesman confirmed the clashes but accused government forces of attacking them.

“We cannot attack the government because we are under instruction to be under defensive positions, we are defending our positions,” he said.

Radio Tamazuj will keep you updated as the story unfolds.