South Sudan captures oil-rich town from rebels

South Sudanese government troops on Friday recaptured the key oil hub of Bentiu from rebel forces, a government spokesman said. Bentiu is the capital of the oil-rich Unity state, and was one of two cities that fell under rebel control following a failed coup attempt in December.

Government forces pressed with an offensive to regain control of Bentiu from rebel forces as the White House urged both sides in the deadly conflict to sign an agreement to immediately cease hostilities.

The worst fighting on Friday struck Bentiu, where forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar lost the town to the army of President Salva Kiir, leaving the town ransacked and emptied of its civilian population.

South Sudanese rebels had rejected a government plan on Wednesday to end a dispute over detainees and unblock peace talks aimed at halting the conflict, which has killed more than 1,000 people.

The talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, now in their fifth day, were organized by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African group of governments.

Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's national security adviser, said in a statement that it was the responsibility of both leaders to make sure their country was not marred by more violence.

"Mr. Machar, in particular, must commit to a cessation of hostilities without precondition," Rice said, adding that the U.S. was "disappointed" senior politician detainees in government custody have not yet been released.

"The United States reiterates its call upon President Salva Kiir to release the detainees immediately to the custody of IGAD so that they can participate in the political negotiations," she said.

On Wednesday, the government proposed to shift the peace talks to the United Nations compound in South Sudan's capital, Juba, enabling the 11 detainees to attend the negotiations during the day and return to custody in the evening.

Those detainees have been held for allegedly plotting a coup late last year against South Sudan's government.

The U.N., which shelters more than 8,000 people at its Bentiu compound, said its mission in South Sudan had cut off military links with the government and was ready to fend off any attack.

Nearly a month of fighting between rebels and government forces has led thousands of South Sudanese to seek refuge at U.N. compounds. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said there are now more than 60,000 people at U.N. compounds across the country, half of them in Juba and another 9,000 in Bor, the rebel-held capital of Jonglei state.

In total, there are now likely more than a quarter of a million people displaced by the fighting, U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said after briefing the U.N. Security Council on the crisis.

No current figures on a death toll were available, Ladsous added, but he estimated it was "substantially in excess" of the 1,000 deaths the U.N. reported just after the conflict erupted on Dec. 15.

Al Jazeera correspondent Hura Mutasa, reporting from South Sudan, said displaced people in the country have lived for years amid promises of peace deals, and are wary of putting too much faith in any deal.

"They’ve been through cycles of violence before," she said. "They are tired. They're frustrated."

Al Jazeera and wire services