Meanwhile, agencies report that a fragile ceasefire appeared to be holding in South Sudan’s capital Juba after four days of gun battles that have left hundreds dead and sent almost thousands fleeing.
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According to reports, the minister said there are about 600 Indians in South Sudan, of them 450 are in Juba and almost 150 outside Juba.
Machar returned to Juba in April, which was seen as a step to end fighting.
Speaking at the opening of the 29 Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union on Tuesday, Dlamini-Zuma said that African will not look on as people of South Sudan continue to suffer.
“This is a provocation”, he said. Juba’s global airport, which shut during the fighting, also reopened, U.N.-backed Radio Miraya reported, citing South Sudanese officials.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday that about 5 000 of those have sought shelter at a United Nations compound in the capital Juba.
U.N. Spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci says it is urgent to have free access for civilian aids. The presidency said in a statement yesterday: “Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa joins President Jacob Zuma and the global community in expressing serious concerns regarding the recent outbreak of violence in South Sudan between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the SPLA in Opposition”.
Two Chinese UN peacekeepers were killed and others wounded in the days of fighting that was heaviest in an area called Jebel to the west of the city where ex-rebels had a military base close to a UN camp for people previously uprooted in the civil war that began in December 2013. The U.S. “will hold fully accountable those committing atrocities or who impede efforts to halt the fighting”.
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Kiir is a member of the Dinka tribe, while Machar is a Nuer, and the conflict has split the country along ethnic lines. It said United Nations bases were not created to serve as shelters for displaced populations. A fairly new country, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011.
