In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, Phillip Madol, 33, left, one of the thousands who fled the recent fighting between government and rebel forces in Bor by boat across the White Nile, speaks to a reporter in the town of Awerial, South Sudan. Madol was one of Sudan's "Lost Boys," young men who were moved to the United States during the country's old civil war when South Sudan was still part of Sudan, and studied at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan. AWERIAL, South Sudan (AP) - Phillip Madol once studied in America as one of Sudan's "Lost Boys" who fled bloodshed and famine. This week he was again caught up in a war as he helped his family flee a town that rebels had overrun in South Sudan. Fighting broke out in the capital of South Sudan on Dec. 15 and quickly radiated across the world's newest country as two main ethnic groups began attacking each other. The central government is afraid that rebels loyal to ousted Vice President Riek Machar are preparing to march to the capital, Juba, from Bor, the capital of Jonglei state. The Pentagon said Marines evacuated about 20 Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Juba. The warring factions held preliminary meetings Friday in neighboring Ethiopia, mediators said. Madol, who previously studied at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, returned to South Sudan a couple of months ago after hearing his mother was sick. Her health problems are worse now: She was shot and broke a leg in this week's violence in Bor. They burned all the huts and they shoot people too during that fight," said Madol, 33, referring to a common name used for the fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group. South of Bor, thousands of families like Madol's have been fleeing to the Nile River region of Awerial. Aid groups estimate that perhaps between 60,000 and 75,000 people have streamed out of Bor in search of safety from the armed Lou Nuer, a group seen as loyal to Machar. "It's hard to get medical (treatment) now," said Madol. Through the decades of civil war fought between Sudan and its southern region, thousands of "Lost Boys of Sudan" spent years drifting while fleeing bloodshed and famine before landing in other countries like the U.S. Madol was one of those boys. South Sudan peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011 following a 2005 peace deal that ended a decades-long war. But now fighting has erupted in South Sudan along ethnic lines, ensnaring Madol and many others. The U.S. announced an additional $50 million in funding assistance, including for U.N. programs and the international Red Cross. The international community says at least 180,000 people have been displaced in the fighting. A conservative estimated death toll stands at least 1,000 people. Dina Mufti, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry, said the introductory meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were necessary to bridge the groups' differences ahead of direct talks expected to start Saturday. AP reporter Elias Meseret contributed to this report from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.