JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Dozens of soldiers were killed in a second day of clashes in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, as more than 13,000 civilians took refuge at a U.N. peacekeepers’ base.
The fragile state is confronting its greatest crisis since independence in 2011, after clashes erupted late Sunday and President Salva Kiir accused his rival and former deputy, Riek Machar, of a coup attempt.
Kiir dismissed Machar as vice president in July, along with his entire cabinet, after a bitter power struggle in his ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.
Mortar and heavy machine-gun fire were reported near the presidential palace while streets of the capital remained deserted. As fighting continued in several neighborhoods, security forces raided Machar’s home but he remained at large. Five former ministers were arrested, according to government officials.
Underlying the conflict are simmering tensions between Kiir’s Dinka tribe and Machar’s Nuer tribe. The clashes initially broke out between rival factions in the presidential guard.
The U.N. special envoy, Hilde F. Johnson, issued a statement Tuesday calling on all sides in the conflict to refrain from ethnic violence.
“As UNMISS (the U.N. mission) has previously warned against any hate speech in relation to inter-communal violence in South Sudan, it is paramount that the current violence does not assume ethnic dimensions,” she said. “At a time when unity among South Sudanese is needed more than ever, I call on the leaders of this new country and all political factions and parties as well as community leaders to refrain from any action that fuels ethnic tensions and exacerbates violence.”
Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny played down the ethnic aspect of the conflict, saying authorities were hunting for several coup plotters of Dinka ethnicity, not just Nuers.
South Sudanese Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told reporters Tuesday that the army was carrying out raids to “clear out remnants” of renegade soldiers loyal to Machar.
“Our forces are hunting them down but there should be no cause for alarm. The government is in full control,” he said, adding that Machar and others allegedly linked to the coup were still being sought.
Benjamin described the alleged plotters as “disgruntled” soldiers, who tried to attack the republican guard army barracks Sunday night.
Toby Lanzer, U.N. humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, tweeted that 13,000 people had fled to the UNMISS base or Juba’s outskirts. He said at least 200 wounded were at Juba Teaching Hospital with more likely elsewhere.
There were conflicting reports on casualties, with up to 66 killed, according to a military doctor who spoke to local radio. Another hospital reported 26 dead.
“It’s been a difficult morning for all in South Sudan, especially civilians in parts of Juba who just need calm to get on with their lives,” Lanzer tweeted.
Juba’s airport, as well as the country’s borders with both Uganda and Kenya remained closed.
The office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the country’s military leaders to “impose discipline on their forces and to exercise maximum restraint in the use of force.”
