Battles Rage in South Sudan Capital

Fierce battles raged on Tuesday in South Sudan’s capital Juba as troops loyal to the president fought rival soldiers accused of staging a coup in the world’s youngest nation.Kiir

The continued gunfire, including the sporadic firing of heavy weapons, resumed in the early hours of Tuesday as terrified residents barricaded themselves in their homes or attempted to flee the city.

South Sudan’s Under-Secretary for Health Makur Korion said on local radio that at least 26 people had so far been killed in the violence. At least 130 more are reported to have been wounded.

“We can still hear sporadic shooting from various locations. The situation is very tense,” Emma Jane Drew of the British aid agency Oxfam told AFP by telephone from Juba. “It’s continued shooting. Shooting could be heard all through the night. We don’t know who is fighting who.”

Drew said her team was unable to leave their compound because of the fighting, which began late on Sunday.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has accused troops loyal to his arch-rival, former vice president Riek Machar who was sacked from the government in July, of attempting a coup.

On Monday, Kiir said his troops were “in full control of the security situation in Juba”, and imposed an overnight curfew on the city — only for the fighting to resume again.

The independent radio station Tamazuj said clashes were taking place around compounds belonging to Machar or his loyalists.