Uganda's President Says East African Leaders Have Agreed To Defeat South Sudan Rebel Leader if Ceasefire Offer is Rejected

Over 1,000 already killed since violence started earlier this month

(Reuters)—Uganda's president said on Monday East African nations had agreed to unite to defeat South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar if he rejected a ceasefire offer, threatening to turn an outburst of ethnic fighting into a regional conflict.

Two weeks of clashes have already killed at least 1,000 people in the world's newest nation, rocked oil markets and raised fears of a civil war in a region ravaged by fighting in Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo.