Southern Sudan leader ends faction fighting

The former Sudanese rebel commander Riek Machar, who went over to the government side last year, says he has intervened to stop factional fighting between soldiers around the southern town of Bentiu.

He said thirty-eight people had died in the fighting, which began ten days ago when soldiers who'd been guarding a Chinese oil concession sided with rival candidates in a local government election.

The soldiers involved were from the South Sudan Defence Force, which is made up of former rebels.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service