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| South Sudan factional fighting leaves dozens dead | South Sudan factional fighting leaves dozens dead |
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| Two days of fighting between rival factions in South Sudan's army have left at least 59 people dead and more than 400 wounded, prompting warnings of a bloodbath in the world's youngest country. | Two days of fighting between rival factions in South Sudan's army have left at least 59 people dead and more than 400 wounded, prompting warnings of a bloodbath in the world's youngest country. |
| What began on Sunday night as an alleged coup attempt threatens to open deep ethnic divisions in a nation awash with arms and still recovering from a devastating war that led to its secession in 2011 from the north. | |
| Salva Kiir, the president of the two-and-a-half-year-old nation, has accused his sacked vice-president, Riek Machar, of an attempt to seize power and labelled him a "prophet of doom". | Salva Kiir, the president of the two-and-a-half-year-old nation, has accused his sacked vice-president, Riek Machar, of an attempt to seize power and labelled him a "prophet of doom". |
| Others have accused Kiir of manufacturing a coup plot to launch a crackdown against his opponents. Critics of the president, including at least seven former government ministers, have been rounded up in the past two days by security forces, prompting fears of a putsch. | Others have accused Kiir of manufacturing a coup plot to launch a crackdown against his opponents. Critics of the president, including at least seven former government ministers, have been rounded up in the past two days by security forces, prompting fears of a putsch. |
| Susan Page, the American ambassador to South Sudan, said by telephone from the capital, Juba: "The way they're going after searching for people is really causing fear." | Susan Page, the American ambassador to South Sudan, said by telephone from the capital, Juba: "The way they're going after searching for people is really causing fear." |
| While shooting continued last night outside the US embassy, Page denied reports Machar had sought refuge inside. A dawn-to-dusk curfew has left many terrified residents in hiding, with witnesses describing blasts that "shook the earth" from several locations in the city. | |
| Thousands of desperate civilians have ignored security assurances from the government and crowded around two United Nations bases in the capital seeking the protection of a small peacekeeping force. Toby Lanzer, a senior UN official in Juba said 13,000 people had sought shelter in and outside the two bases. | Thousands of desperate civilians have ignored security assurances from the government and crowded around two United Nations bases in the capital seeking the protection of a small peacekeeping force. Toby Lanzer, a senior UN official in Juba said 13,000 people had sought shelter in and outside the two bases. |
| Meanwhile, the capital's poorly equipped hospitals have been overrun by wounded soldiers and civilian casualties. Ajak Bullen, a doctor at Juba's military hospital, said the number of wounded had reached 400 as of Monday night, with at least 59 people dead. "We've lost quite a big number, especially soldiers and the problem is we have a lack of blood," he said. At the Juba teaching hospital, Dr Wani Mena said patients were arriving, including civilians, suffering from gunshot wounds. | Meanwhile, the capital's poorly equipped hospitals have been overrun by wounded soldiers and civilian casualties. Ajak Bullen, a doctor at Juba's military hospital, said the number of wounded had reached 400 as of Monday night, with at least 59 people dead. "We've lost quite a big number, especially soldiers and the problem is we have a lack of blood," he said. At the Juba teaching hospital, Dr Wani Mena said patients were arriving, including civilians, suffering from gunshot wounds. |
| Much of the focus on South Sudan's troubled first steps into nationhood has concentrated rows over oil and borders with rump Sudan. | Much of the focus on South Sudan's troubled first steps into nationhood has concentrated rows over oil and borders with rump Sudan. |
| But unresolved grievances between the main southern communities, not least the decades-old political rivalry between Kiir and Machar, have festered behind the scenes of the Sudan's People's Liberation Movement, the guerrilla force that is now the ruling party. | But unresolved grievances between the main southern communities, not least the decades-old political rivalry between Kiir and Machar, have festered behind the scenes of the Sudan's People's Liberation Movement, the guerrilla force that is now the ruling party. |
| The fighting began on Sunday night among the multi-ethnic presidential guard stationed at a barracks on the outskirts of Juba. Rumours that Machar, who is from the Nuer ethnic group, had been arrested appear to have sparked a confrontation with soldiers from the larger Dinka tribe, of which the president is a member. After initial clashes died down both sides rearmed and widespread fighting began again in the early hours of Monday with heavy weapons deployed. | The fighting began on Sunday night among the multi-ethnic presidential guard stationed at a barracks on the outskirts of Juba. Rumours that Machar, who is from the Nuer ethnic group, had been arrested appear to have sparked a confrontation with soldiers from the larger Dinka tribe, of which the president is a member. After initial clashes died down both sides rearmed and widespread fighting began again in the early hours of Monday with heavy weapons deployed. |
| Tensions in the oil-producing nation have been dangerously high since the president sacked his cabinet in July in a move seen as an effort to pre-empt a political power grab by his deputy, Machar. | Tensions in the oil-producing nation have been dangerously high since the president sacked his cabinet in July in a move seen as an effort to pre-empt a political power grab by his deputy, Machar. |
| Diplomats who have known the former guerrilla commander since the civil war years have described him as a changed man, who no longer reaches out to the foreign donors on which the impoverished country relies. | Diplomats who have known the former guerrilla commander since the civil war years have described him as a changed man, who no longer reaches out to the foreign donors on which the impoverished country relies. |
| "This is not the Salva Kiir we knew seven years ago," said one on condition of anonymity. Since the crisis began he has discarded his trademark American cowboy hat and appeared on national television in a military uniform vowing that the "forces of evil will not prevail". | "This is not the Salva Kiir we knew seven years ago," said one on condition of anonymity. Since the crisis began he has discarded his trademark American cowboy hat and appeared on national television in a military uniform vowing that the "forces of evil will not prevail". |
| The fact that the fighting began because of paranoia and ethnic divisions in the presidential guard is a further sign of the deteriorating situation in a country where some of the smaller communities resent what they see as Dinka domination. People have taken to calling the government the "Dinkocracy". Were similar grievances to spread to the rest of the country it is feared mayhem would follow. Thousands of civilians have already been massacred in the last two years in restive Jonglei state near the border with Ethiopia in disputes over cattle and land between two rival tribes. | |
| "This was a very bold move by Kiir. He is doing everything he can to suppress Machar," said a security expert with close links to the military wing of the SPLM. "He is hell-bent on control." | "This was a very bold move by Kiir. He is doing everything he can to suppress Machar," said a security expert with close links to the military wing of the SPLM. "He is hell-bent on control." |
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