South Sudan rebels say control oil-producing state capital

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebels said they had seized control of the capital of oil-producing Upper Nile state on Tuesday, in an assault the government branded a flagrant breach of a ceasefire signed in January.

The rebel strike was the first attack on a major town since the January 23 ceasefire deal, but the government denied rebels now controlled Malakal, which lies on the fringes of a key oil-producing area in the country's north-eastern corner.