Explosions and heavy weapons gunfire were shaking South Sudan’s capital Juba on Monday in the fifth day of clashes between Government and opposition forces, raising the specter of a return to civil war.
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s President ordered a ceasefire on Monday after a new day of heavy fighting in the capital Juba that sent thousands of people fleeing and threatened a return to civil war. President Salva Kiir’s ceasefire order Monday evening raised hopes of an end to four days of deadly fighting between the army and ex-rebels.
Widespread shooting have prevented residents from moving in the city. A “massive explosion” hit shortly after 9 am followed by further blasts in the Tomping area of Juba, home to embassies, the airport and a UN base, said an aid worker.
“It rings through the whole city every time they fire,” said the aid worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to press. “I think one of the tanks must be near me, my ears are burning.”
Explosions and “very heavy gunfire” sounding “like popcorn,” was reported by a resident in the Gudele area, who insisted on anonymity for safety. Considerable fighting has centered around the UN base in the Jebel area, where some 30,000 civilians have taken refuge.
The Opposition also has a base near Jebel and their leader also has his home there.
Two Government helicopters have been bombing areas near the base while ground forces shell the base, including a camp of tens of thousands of displaced civilians, according to a source within the UN compound, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press.
The displaced civilians are mostly of the Nuer ethnicity and sought protection from the UN after a series of Government-led killings of Nuer in Juba in 2013 which sparked the civil war, according to an African Union commission of enquiry.
Government officials have repeatedly accused the civilians inside the UN bases of being rebels or rebel supporters. UN peacekeepers have not fired at the troops shelling the base, said the source in the base, who accused the soldiers with UN blue helmets of abandoning their positions.