More than 300 people are reported to have been killed, including many civilians and a Chinese peacekeeper, in renewed fighting in South Sudan’s capital Juba, raising fears the country is returning to civil war.
The new clashes originally broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to Salva Kiir, the president, and soldiers who support the vice-president, Riek Machar. Observers say it is clear that the peace deal concluded last August between the two main factions in the young country is only holding “by a thread”.
After a lull on Saturday, when South Sudan was to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its independence from Sudan, the fighting flared again on Sunday and Monday, raising fears of a return to all-out civil war.
