South Sudan forces, armed groups clash, displacing civilians - U.N

File picture of Rebel fighters holding up their rifles as they walk in front of a bushfire in a rebel-controlled territory in Upper Nile State, South Sudan February 13, 2014. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/File Photo

JUBA (Reuters) - Fighting between government forces and armed groups around a town in the northwest of South Sudan has forced thousands to flee, the United Nations and an aid agency said on Saturday.

The clashes around Wau, northwest of the capital, are the latest flare-up in a nation which was mired in conflict for more than two years until a peace deal was reached between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, now vice president.