Aid agencies withdraw foreign staff from S Sudan

Two global aid agencies on Saturday evacuated their international staff from a part of war-torn South Sudan fearing violence as government troops launch an offensive against rebels.

Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross both said they withdrew their international staff from the rebel-held town of Leer in the south.

Doctors Without Borders is "gravely concerned about an imminent attack" on Leer and has been forced to halt all their medical services at Leer hospital, it said in a statement. Government troops are retaliating against rebel attacks, said Sudanese military spokesman.