At least 272 people have died in fighting between South Sudan´s rival factions in the capital Juba, including 33 civilians, a government source said on
Sunday, as heavy gunfire erupted again in parts the city.
Sunday, as heavy gunfire erupted again in parts the city.
The fighting broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers who support vice president Riek Machar.
The violence has raised fears South Sudan could face more instability after emerging from a two-year civil war, which began in December 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president.
On Saturday Juba was calm, but on Sunday a Reuters witness said gunfire was heard in Gudele and Jebel suburbs of Juba, near the military barracks that hosts troops loyal to Machar.
"For about 30 to 40 minutes we heard sounds of heavy artillery in the direction of Jebel area," an aide worker based in Juba who did not want to be named told Reuters.
South Sudan´s civil war was fought largely along ethnic lines with Kiir, a Dinka, and Machar, a Nuer, drawing support from their respective tribes.
A peace agreement last August ended the war but Kiir and Machar have yet to integrate their forces, a key part of the peace deal.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the latest violence highlighted a lack of commitment to the peace process and urged the country´s leaders to end the fighting, discipline military leaders and work together to implement the peace deal.The streets of South Sudan’s capital were charged with tension on Saturday, the nation’s fifth independence anniversary, after an outbreak of heavy fighting.
“The number of casualties is over 272 killed,” said Roman Nyarji, a spokesman for rebel leader turned Vice-President Riek Machar, adding the death toll of soldiers on both sides may rise further.
“We are expecting a bigger number of casualties because the two units of the presidential guard were all engaged yesterday,” he said referring to bodyguard units of Machar and his rival President Salva Kiir.
The shooting began when Kiir and Machar met at the presidential palace and initially involved each man’s bodyguards. The shootout, lasting about half an hour, quickly escalated from small-arms fire to heavier weapons and spread with machine-gun and artillery heard in several parts of Juba before subsiding after nightfall. Kiir and Machar described Friday’s violence as “unfortunate”.
The capital was tense on Saturday with a heavy security presence and few civilians on the streets. Foreign governments warned their nationals to leave the country if possible, or stay indoors. “British Embassy staff have been on lock down and we are reducing to only essential staff in the country,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement. “If you have no pressing need to remain, you should consider leaving [by commercial means], if it is safe to do so.”
Unlike past years there will be no official independence celebrations as the government cancelled the festivities saying it could not afford them.
Teacher Peter Mawa, 40, said he has “mixed feelings” of pride over independence and sadness at the ongoing violence. “I think we have a reason also to celebrate, even if it is only in our houses,” he said, planning to stay indoors in case of any further outbreaks of fighting.
An August 2015 peace deal was supposed to end the conflict but observers say the peace process has stalled while fighting has continued despite the establishment of a unity government. This week’s clashes are the first between the army and former rebels in the capital — where the war broke out in 2013 — since both established positions there in April as part of the peace agreement.
Tens of thousands have died in more than two years of civil war, close to three million have been forced from their homes and nearly five million survive on emergency food rations. The humanitarian crisis takes place alongside an economic one with the currency collapsing and inflation spiralling out of control. The country’s mainstay oil industry is in tatters and regional towns have been razed.
