South Sudan’s government has agreed at a meeting of East African leaders to end hostilities against rebels accused of trying to overthrow the young country’s regime, but the ceasefire was quickly thrown into doubt because the head of the rebellion was not invited.

Sudanese planes bombarded a disputed oil town near South Sudan's border, a southern military official said, and a doctor said bombs aimed at strategic sites in the south's Unity State killed five people.

The United Nations is preparing for the possibility of 2.8 million people being displaced if fighting breaks out over southern Sudan’s independence referendum, according to an internal report.