Government forces defeat attempted coup in South Sudan

The South Sudanese president says an attempted coup has been defeated, following a night of fighting in the capital, Juba.

President Salva Kiir said in a statement that the government is now in full control of the security situation in Juba.

He blamed soldiers loyal to former deputy president, Riek Machar, for starting the fighting. Machar was sacked in July.

“This was an attempted coup,” President Kiir said in a speech, adding, “Your government is in full control of the security situation in Juba. The attackers fled and your forces are pursuing them. I promise you justice will prevail.”
“I will not allow or tolerate such incidents once again in our new nation. I strongly condemn these criminal actions in the strongest terms possible,” the president noted.

Reports say the firing appeared to be focused around military barracks in the city.

The president has declared a curfew in Juba effective as of Monday night. The curfew would run each night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The fighting in Juba apparently started at barracks close to the city center shortly before midnight and involved the use of heavy machine guns and mortars.

UN Special Representative Hilde Johnson said in a statement that the international body was “deeply concerned” over the fighting and that it was in contact with South Sudan’s leadership.

“As the Special Representative of the [UN] Secretary-General, I urge all parties in the fighting to cease hostilities immediately and exercise restraint,” Johnson said, adding, “I have been in touch regularly with the key leaders, including at the highest levels to call for calm.”

Joseph Contreras, a spokesman for the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), said hundreds of civilians had sought shelter at a UN compound.

“We have more than 800 civilians who came into our compound adjacent to the airport, mostly women and children. Among them are seven wounded, including a two-year-old boy in a critical condition,” Contreras said.

South Sudan won its independence in 2011 after its people voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to split from the north and form a new nation.