Mr Lueth said government troops responded when Mr Machar’s forces attacked a checkpoint, adding that those forces had now been scattered. But Kiir’s information minister, Michael Makuei, says the reports were “dishonest”.
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Sunday’s clashes are first since Friday, when a half-hour gun battle with heavy weapons and artillery killed more than 100 people.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned what he called the “senseless violence”.
Heavy fighting in South Sudan’s capital was witnessed today as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire in several parts of the city.
More than 270 troops and civilians in the capital Juba have been reported killed forcing scores of residents to seek shelter in United Nations compounds.
Casualties among UN peacekeepers including the death of a Chinese blue helmet occurred during the renewed fighting in South Sudan’s capital Juba on Sunday, a spokeswoman with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has confirmed. Britain’s deputy permanent representative, Peter Wilson, said it was essential to “unequivocally condemn the violence happening in Juba and ensure the United Nations mission has the strong backing of the security council [and] make sure that we are working very closely with the region to make sure the violence stops”. Helicopter gunships and tanks were also deployed. “Helicopters from Kiir’s side attacked the residence twice”, Machar’s spokesman James Gatdet Dak told Reuters, speaking by phone from overseas. Kirby said the U.S. has asked for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to address the situation.
Numerous thousands displaced by the renewed fighting in Juba are sheltering at the two U.N. bases, a World Food Program compound and other areas, said U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Matilda Moyo. “I saw dead bodies of civilians, and others. moving with blood on their bodies”, one man, who gave his name only as Steven, said by telephone.
“We have seen quite a few individuals packing up and leaving, trying to find shelter, what look like a lot of civilians taking off down the street, carrying their suitcases, their children”, he said.
Civil war erupted in December 2013 following an attempted coup by soldiers loyal to Kiir’s former deputy Machar. That stand-off led to clashes.
Shooting reportedly broke out between Kiir’s and Machar’s bodyguards.
Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways has this morning advised that its flights to and from Juba, South Sudan remain suspended.
In response to the ongoing violence, the U.S. State Department on Sunday ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Juba, according to a statement from spokesperson Kirby.
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Machar and Kiir signed a peace deal in August 2015 but then spent months afterwards wrangling over details.
