South Sudan President Salva Kiir declares state of emergency in Jonglei, Unity states

Juba, South Sudan: South Sudan's president declared a state of emergency Wednesday ahead of peace talks to stop the latest violence in the country.

President Salva Kiir issued the declaration for the states of Unity and Jonglei, which include the rebel-held towns of Bor and Benitu, the scene of recent fighting and scores of civilian deaths.

State radio also reported that Kiir ordered the formation of a negotiating team to take part in the peace talks in Ethiopia. The government delegation includes key opposition figures, as required in the presidential decree, state radio reported.

Representatives from the warring parties in South Sudan will arrive in Ethiopia on Wednesday for talks aimed at ending the violence wracking the nation, the United Nations' special representative to South Sudan said.

Hilde Johnson, who heads the U.N. mission to South Sudan, said she wanted to see both parties "take a decisive step to cease all hostilities" starting Wednesday.

"We want to make this day the day that the violence stops," she told a news conference in the South Sudanese capital, Juba.

Kiir and the rebels' leader, former Vice President Riek Machar, agreed Tuesday to send delegations to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, home of the African Union, for peace talks after two weeks of violence.

A cessation of hostilities between their forces is expected to top the agenda.

Johnson said it was too early to say if the move was a breakthrough, "but it is a step in the right direction."

The African Union has set up a group to investigate human rights abuses, Johnson said, which met for the first time Tuesday.

She stressed the need for people to be held accountable for their actions, and for a community-based reconciliation process to run alongside the peace talks.

-CNN