South Sudan rebels take over key town after attempted coup

South Sudanese rebels have taken over the flashpoint town of Bor after Sunday's attempted coup, raising fears of a slide into civil war.

Following the clashes, African mediators, including South Sudan president Salva Kiir held talks in the UN facilities of Juba to end the conflict, but the fresh military factions pay no heed to Kiir's call for peace between the two forces.

Battles between troops loyal to Riek Machar, South Sudan's fugitive former vice president, and the government's military continued.

An army spokesman confirmed that the South Sudanese army lost control of Bor to Machar's force, a claim Machar denies.

Meanwhile, violence has spread to the rural state of Jonglei in South Sudan, and has killed about 500 people, according to United Nations.

The fighting started shortly before President Salva Kiir announced that security forces had put down an attempted coup by supporters of his former deputy.

At a press conference on Wednesday Kiir said he was willing to sit down with the former vice president for talks, but said "I do not know what the results of the talks will be."

Machar has denied that any plot was carried out to coup Kiir and claimed that his colleagues were detained for no reason and he was "used a scapegoat" by Kiir to purge the ruling SPLM party of rivals to avoid reforming it.

In Bor, in Jonglei state, where Nuer soldiers loyal to Machar in 1991 massacred hundreds of Dinka, the ethnic group of Kiir, the locals feared the fighting could spill beyond the barracks.

"The situation is no longer contained to Juba. This extension of conflict to the state-level is deeply concerning and poses serious challenges for ongoing efforts to reduce hostilities,'' Casie Copeland, the South Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group said.

About 20,000 people have sought refuge at UN facilities in Juba, since fighting started on Sunday.

The UN in South Sudan reported fighting on Wednesday morning in Bor area, saying on its Twitter feed that more than 1,000 civilians sought refuge in the UN compound.