BEIJING, Feb. 26 -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Wednesday urged South Sudan's pro-government and opposition forces to cease fire and resolve their disputes in a peaceful way.

"We are gravely concerned about the military conflict and casualties in South Sudan," Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing in response to a question on China's stance on the situation in South Sudan.

Earlier this month, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, warned in a statement that the conflict would undermine the ongoing mediation process and worsen the suffering of South Sudanese.

The IGAD expressed serious concerns over the heavy fighting and urged the two parties to honor the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed by the government and the rebels on Jan. 23 in Addis Ababa.

Hua said the Chinese side has noted related media reports.

"We urge the conflicting sides in South Sudan to implement the ceasefire agreement substantially and resolve disputes appropriately with peaceful means to resume stability at an early date," she said.

Both the government and the rebels in South Sudan accuse each other of violating the cessation of hostilities agreement signed between the two groups at peace negotiations in Ethiopia.

Over the past two months, thousands of people are believed to have been killed by fighting that began as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy president, Riek Machar.

Some 870,000 others have fled their homes, 145,000 of them to neighboring countries and 75,000 to UN Mission bases in South Sudan.