South Sudan rebels, government claim oil town as talks delayed

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebels and government troops both said they controlled the capital of an oil-producing state on Thursday after days of fighting, as another attempt to resume peace talks in neighbouring Ethiopia fell through.

Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said the town of Malakal, on the White Nile near oilfields in the north of the country, had been shattered by fighting but that its recapture marked a strategically important win.