AMN
At least 272 people have been killed in renewed fighting between government and former rebel forces since Friday in South Sudan capital Juba.
The latest exchanges were apparently sparked by a shootout between President Salva Kiir’s and Vice President Riek Machar’s bodyguards.
Forces loyal to the Vice President said, government troops supporting the President attacked their positions.
President Kiir had, in 2013, accused Vice President Machar of planning a coup. But, a peace deal was signed last year and Mr Machar returned to South Sudan to take up his job as first vice president in a new unity government.
The United Nations Security Council has called on warring factions to immediately end the fighting and prevent the spread of violence.
In a unanimous statement, the council condemned the fighting in the strongest terms and expressed shock and outrage at attacks on UN sites. It also called for additional peacekeepers as a response.
The Indian embassy in South Sudan has asked Indians stranded in Juba to stay calm, assuring them that they are in constant touch with authorities in India.
The Embassy in a statement said, all options are being considered to provide relief to them.
Bhupat Patel, an Indian resident in South Sudan, tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking for help, saying that they are stuck in the heavy gunfire.
Mrs Swaraj retweeted the Indian embassy’s statement and said that concerned authorities have been intimated to extend help.
Fighting and gunfire again erupted in South Sudan’s capital today. Renewed clashes have raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict.