South Sudan ceasefire talks open as battles rage

ADDIS ABABA: South Sudan’s warring parties opened negotiations on Friday to end nearly three weeks of raging conflict in which thousands are feared dead and that has taken the world’s youngest nation to the brink of all-out civil war.

Government and rebel negotiating teams are at a luxury hotel in neighboring Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, with the rivals first meeting special envoys from regional nations.