US Embassy Done Helping US Citizens in South Sudan

As of tomorrow, the US embassy in South Sudan will no longer provide consular services to US citizens, according to the AP, as even more embassy staff were today whisked out of Juba in the face of a "deteriorating security situation." The State Department today facilitated an evacuation flight, one of about a dozen that have taken place since fighting erupted Dec. 15. Reuters spoke with the US ambassador to Juba, Susan Page, who said "we are not suspending our operations. We are just minimizing our presence."

Reuters notes that a rep for the rebels claims that after seizing Bor, rebel forces are headed to Juba, and are "close" to the capital. (Though a government rep says its forces were going to retake Bor.) What isn't close: the peace negotiations in Ethiopia, where both sides have yet to meet face-to-face. "Both delegations are meeting the mediators separately," says a rep for Ethiopia's foreign ministry. The BBC reports that mediators hope to start direct talks late today or tomorrow. (More South Sudan stories.)