JUBA, South Sudan, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- South Sudan leaders persuaded a militia loyal to former Vice President Rick Machar to retreat from the city of Bor, a government official said Monday.
An estimated 20,000 ethnic Nuer, members of the so-called White Army, were heading for Bor, raising fears of violence, CNN reported.
Deputy Information Minister Rachel Nyedek Paul said she and other officials who are ethnic Nuer from North Jonglei province, where the White Army originated, persuaded the troops by telephone from the capital city of Juba the current crisis in South Sudan was political and not tribal, and not to get involved.
Machar is a longtime rival of President Salva Kiir, and each is a member of a different tribe, Machar a Nuer and Kiir a Dinka, CNN said.
