South Sudan Nhial Deng Nhial: We are on brink of war

South Sudan's foreign minister has warned his country is on the brink of war with Sudan following days of fierce fighting along the border.

Nhial Deng Nhial told the BBC Sudanese forces had invaded the town of Jau, which was in the south.

He urged the international community to intervene and said he hoped full-scale hostilities could still be avoided.

South Sudan seceded from the north in July following years of civil war in which some 1.5m people died.

The border between the north and south has not yet been officially designated.

Since July Khartoum and Juba have accused each other of supporting rebels in the border areas.

Mr Deng Nhial said the clashes in Jau, which he said was a town in Unity state, were the biggest threat to peace since South Sudan's independence.

"Although there have been frequent aerial bombardments of different places in the Republic of South Sudan, we think that Khartoum has raised this offensive to an entirely new level by committing ground forces to cross into the Republic of South Sudan," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

"We are still very much committed to the principle of dialogue with Khartoum - we are still hopeful that we can pull back from the brink of outright war."

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