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| Alastair Leithead says most refugees are from the Dinka community
Hopes of a quick agreement to end weeks of violence in South Sudan have been dashed, after talks in Ethiopia between the warring parties were delayed.
Teams representing President Salva Kiir and sacked deputy Riek Machar were due to meet face-to-face on Saturday. No new timings have been announced.
Heavy fighting is continuing in South Sudan. At least 1,000 people have been killed since 15 December.
More than 180,000 people have been displaced in the conflict.
Aid workers say many of them are living without shelter, clean water or sanitation.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead, in the South Sudan capital, Juba, says both sides think they have the upper hand and, with their positions so far apart, something dramatic must change for a speedy agreement to come out of the talks in Addis Ababa.
He says the rebel side has a long list that needs to be discussed before a ceasefire is reached - the truce is at the bottom of the list.
 More than 180,000 people have been displaced in the conflict
South Sudan's Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told the BBC that the rebels would have to acknowledge that they had instigated a coup attempt. He said that the government's compromise was to have agreed to the talks.
Mr Machar, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, said his forces would hold back from attacking Juba in order to try to reach a negotiated settlement.
"I'm being restrained by the international community and the talks, which I hope will yield some fruits," he said.
However, there are reports of heavy fighting continuing on the outskirts of the rebel-held city of Bor, in Jonglei state.
Our correspondents says there are well-trained and well-armed units there and both sides may be trying to put themselves in the strongest military position possible as the talks in Ethiopia take place.
 The situation around Bor is of particular concern
The government said its troops were attempting to recapture both Bor and the city of Bentiu, in the northern state of Unity.
Government spokesman Col Philip Aguer said: "We will take Bor within 24 hours," adding: "There is no threat to Juba."
An official connected to the rebels told the Sudan Tribune that Col Aguer's comments were "propaganda".
Ethnic divisions
Delegates from both sides began arriving in the Ethiopian capital on Wednesday but talks were delayed until the full negotiating teams had arrived.
The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza in Addis Ababa says the rival teams were in the same hotel but on Friday had only held talks with mediators, who were preparing the ground for direct negotiations.
The Ethiopian minister of foreign affairs said face-to-face talks would follow.
"We just finished the first round of proxy talks with both negotiating teams of #SouthSudan. Will proceed to direct talks tomorrow," Mr Adhanom said on Twitter on Friday.
However, our correspondent in Addis Ababa says it has been confirmed that no direct talks will take place on Saturday.
But he says the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) did suggest they would start "soon".
Igad executive secretary Mahboub Maalim told the BBC the talks so far had been about setting an agenda - and that one item agreed for the agenda was a cessation of violence,
South Sudan is the world's newest state. It was formed in 2011, gaining independence from Sudan after decades of conflict.
The latest trouble has its roots in tensions that go back long before 2011.
Politicians' political bases are often ethnic. President Kiir is from the Dinka community while Mr Machar is a Nuer.
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