South Sudan’s army on Saturday gained full control of the strategic town of Bor, situated 200km north of the capital Juba, following three key battles, which saw them fight off 15,000 rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Mashar. They were assisted by the Ugandan armed forces who are believed to have been fighting alongside the SPLA since the beginning of the conflict. All eyes are now on peace talks in Addis Ababa, which resumed on Monday, where both parties have for weeks been unable to agree on the terms of the ceasefire. The rebels insist that 11 political prisoners, accused by the government to have been plotting a coup against President Salva Kiir, should be released as part of a ceasefire deal. Human Rights Watch and Ivan Simonovic, the UN’s deputy secretary general on Human Rights, have accused both sides of committing human rights’ abuses – including summary executions, arbitrary killings, rape and the recruiting of child soldiers. In Juba, under curfew since violence began on December 15, life is slowly returning to normal with many businesses reopening their doors. Hundreds of students displaced by the conflict, who were unable to take their primary school graduation exams due to ongoing fighting, were this week able to sit the exam in the two UN compounds in Juba.