This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/10/south-sudan-capital-juba-violence-salva-kiir

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
South Sudan capital rocked by renewed violence South Sudan capital rocked by renewed violence
(about 7 hours later)
Renewed gunfights have broken out across South Sudan’s capital between forces loyal to the president and those of the vice-president, officials said, causing widespread casualties and raising fears that the country is returning to civil war. More than 300 people are reported to have been killed, including many civilians, in renewed fighting in South Sudan’s capital Juba, raising fears the country is returning to civil war.
At least 272 people have died in fighting in the capital, Juba, including 33 civilians, a government source said on Sunday. The new clashes broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to Salva Kiir, the president, and soldiers who support the vice-president, Riek Machar. Observers say it is clear that the peace deal concluded last August between the two main factions in the young country is only holding “by a thread”.
Fighting broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers who support the vice-president, Riek Machar. After a lull on Saturday, when South Sudan was to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its independence from Sudan, the fighting flared again on Sunday, raising fears of a return to all-out civil war.
The violence has raised fears South Sudan could face further instability after emerging from a two-year civil war, which began in December 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as vice-president. Related: Wounded in spirit, South Sudan's people need the salve of mutual forgiveness | Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala
On Saturday, Juba was calm, but on Sunday a Reuters witness said gunfire was heard in the Gudele and Jebel suburbs, near the military barracks hosting troops loyal to Machar. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said he was “shocked and appalled by the heavy fighting … in Juba” (pdf) and called on Kiir and Machar to “do everything within their power to de-escalate the hostilities immediately”.
“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. “This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process,” he said.
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. The agreement ended two years of hugely destructive civil conflict, which killed tens of thousands of people.
The 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. Aid workers have reported hearing heavy artillery as well as small-arms fire around Juba. Military helicopters have been seen in the air. The immediate cause of the violence was not clear on Sunday night.
Sunday’s fighting hit a UN camp for displaced people affected by the violence, according to witnesses. South Sudan’s civil war was fought largely along ethnic lines with the president, a Dinka, and the vice-president, a Nuer, drawing support from their respective tribes. The two men have yet to integrate their forces – a key part of the peace deal.
“The condition is really very bad. We have a lot of casualties this side, I think around 50 to 60 besides those of yesterday,” said an official in the camp, who insisted on anonymity for fear of retribution. “We have civilian casualties. We have rocket-propelled grenades that have landed in the camp which has wounded eight people.” Sunday’s fighting hit a UN camp for displaced people affected by the violence, according to officials. Up to 2,000 civilians are believed to have sought sanctuary in the camps in recent days, which have been hit during the fighting by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
At least one person in the camp died, he said, but he did not know about casualties outside where there was heavy fighting. “The United Nations Mission in South Sudan [Unmiss] is outraged at the resumption of violence in Juba [on Sunday] which is severely impacting on the civilian population … Both Unmiss compounds in Juba have sustained impacts from small arms and heavy weapons fire,” according to a statement from the UN, which has been repeatedly criticised for failing to protect civilians in South Sudan.
Government forces attacked a rebel base in the Jebel area of the capital on Sunday morning, said William Gatjiath Deng, a spokesman for the rebel forces. “Three helicopter gunships have just come now and bombed our side,” he said. An official in the main UN camp, who insisted on anonymity for fear of retribution, described the situation as “really very bad”. The official said: “We have a lot of casualties this side, I think around 50 to 60 besides those of yesterday. We have civilian casualties. We have rocket-propelled grenades that have landed in the camp, which have wounded eight people.”
Government spokesmen could not be reached for comment. Details of the actual fighting were unclear. A Reuters witness said gunfire was heard in the Gudele and Jebel suburbs, near the military barracks hosting troops loyal to Machar. William Gatjiath Deng, a spokesman for Machar, said government forces attacked a rebel base in the Jebel area of the capital on Sunday morning. “Three helicopter gunships have just come now and bombed our side,” Deng said.
The UN mission in South Sudan is on a high security alert with no movement of personnel, said Shantal Persaud, spokeswoman for the UN mission. However, the information minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, told the BBC the government troops were reacting to an attack on their forces at a checkpoint. “The situation is normal and it is under full control”, he said.
Sunday’s fighting is a resumption of the conflict on Friday in which more than 100 people died. A precarious calm was restored on Saturday – the day South Sudan was to celebrate its fifth independence day – that was shattered by heavy gunfire on Sunday. Continuing violence and insecurity – as well as poor harvests – has left about half of the 11-million population of the country threatened with famine. It has also disrupted oil production, by far the government’s biggest source of revenues, exacerbating already severe economic problems.
South Sudan is trying to emerge from a two-year civil war caused by political rivalry between Machar and the president. The two leaders issued a joint call for calm after Friday’s fighting, which began outside the presidential compound where Kiir and Machar were meeting and soon spread through the city. The UN says 1.69 million South Sudanese are displaced within the country and another 712,000 have fled into neighbouring countries. The UN humanitarian plan for South Sudan has received only 27% of the $1.29bn (£900m) required. The country’s opposing factions have been stationed in Juba since April as part of a peace deal signed last year to unite the warring sides. They are meant to hold joint patrols in the city, but have yet to work together in Juba and instead remain stationed in separate areas.
A similar skirmish in December 2013 sparked the civil war that killed tens of thousands of people. The two leaders issued a joint call for calm after Friday’s fighting, which began outside the presidential compound where Kiir and Machar were meeting and soon spread through the city. South Sudan is at risk of returning to full-scale war because the two sides are not showing willingness to implement security arrangements, the International Crisis Group said last week.
In a statement on Friday, the joint monitoring and evaluation commission overseeing the ceasefire said the fighting in many parts of the country could be in flagrant violation of the peace deal, while security in the capital was deteriorating.
As a result of the rising tensions in Juba, international organisations have limited their movements in recent days. The UN mission said it had stepped up patrols around its base, but would not increase patrols in the capital.