Friday 14th July 2017

South Sudanese government forces are approaching the headquarters of rebel forces led by former vice president Riek Machar, a United Nations official says.

David Shearer, the head of the U.N. mission in South Sudan, said thousands of civilians have been displaced in several areas of Upper Nile state as soldiers advance on the rebels' base in the town of Pagak, in the northeast.

Shearer told journalists in Juba Wednesday that there has been heavy fighting between the army, known as the SPLA, and opposition forces, known as the SPLA-IO.

Read more on this story from Voice of America here.

The UN is extremely concerned about civilians trapped in the area. Photo/UNICEF