In the strongest terms, IGAD condemned the eruption of the gun fights between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and opposition (SPLA-LO) in Juba and the huge loss of lives and causalities, as well as destruction of properties that still continues unabated.
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Kiir and Machar have always been rivals for power, both in politics and on the battlefield. He also said he was still in Juba but would not elaborate.
Renewed fighting between opposing army forces has raised fears of a return to civil war in South Sudan, which over the weekend marked its fifth anniversary of independence while panicked residents hid inside their homes. The U.N. now has 12,000 peacekeeping troops and police in South Sudan.
Ban said he welcomed this but that fighting is continuing nonetheless.
OCHA’s warning came as a fragile ceasefire called by both President Salva Kiir and his opponent Vice President Riek Machar appeared to hold in Juba on Tuesday after four days of gun battles.
Two Chinese peacekeepers had died by Monday in Juba, Chinese media reported, with several others apparently wounded.
While the two leaders represent different ethnic groups – Kiir is Dinka and Machar is Nuer – those familiar with the civil tensions in the new African nation point to something else triggering the growing violence and instability. “In Department of State language, a reduction in staff is an ‘ordered departure.’ It is not an evacuation”. The exact number of those killed in fighting since Sunday is not known.
The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said “more than 7,000 people” had sought shelter at two compounds in Juba while fighting was also reported in the south-eastern town of Torit where thousands fled to a UN base.
On Sunday the Security Council asked neighboring countries to send more peacekeepers to South Sudan.
The ICGLR urged the Government of South Sudan and the leadership of SPLM-in-Opposition to cease hostilities and work together as partners to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, and allow South Sudanese to enjoy peace and stability.
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A government tank fired on a Chinese armored personnel carrier Sunday, a witness in the United Nations base told The Associated Press. An eyewitness in the United Nations base who was not authorized to speak to the press told AP that he saw a government tank fire on a Chinese armored personnel carrier. Water tanks have not been able to bring water to the tens of thousands sheltering inside the base.
