JUBA: South Sudan’s army said it had seized back full control of the strategic town of Malakal Monday after almost a week of bitter street fighting, the last major settlement under rebel control.

Malakal’s recapture, one of the main battlefields since fighting erupted in the country last month, comes just two days after government troops celebrated the retaking of Bor, another key town and capital of Jonglei state.

Thousands have been killed and half a million civilians have been forced to flee the fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels loyal to his sacked deputy Riek Machar. The conflict entered its sixth week on Monday.

But the recapture of the final large town under rebel control opens up the possibility of a shift in cease-fire talks deadlocked for two weeks, with some suggesting the government had been reluctant to strike a deal while rebels still claimed urban centers.

But rebels are reported to remain powerful and in control of large areas of the countryside.

“Malakal is finally in the hands of the SPLA (South Sudan’s army)... they (the rebels) were flushed out of the town,” army spokesman Philip Aguer said.

The United Nations says that atrocities including war crimes are reported to have been committed by both sides, and on Sunday warned that soldiers had tried to forcefully enter a UN base sheltering thousands of civilians.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “particularly disturbed” that UN staff were threatened by government troops when peacekeepers blocked soldiers from entering their base in Bor.

The army has denied the incident, saying that they wanted to investigate reports rebels may have thrown off their uniforms to hide in the UN base, claims the UN has in turn denied.