JUBA // Fighting in South Sudan has killed up to 500 people, UN diplomats said last night, and the United Nations fears the violence in the country is “largely along ethnic lines”.
The president of South Sudan, which is also the world’s newest country, has blamed the violence on a coup attempt Sunday by soldiers loyal to his former deputy, who belongs to a different ethnic group.
As many as 20,000 people have taken refuge with the UN mission in the capital, Juba, the president of the Security Council, French Ambassador Gerard Araud, said.
Mr Araud said the council received only “patchy information” in a special briefing Tuesday evening by the UN peacekeeping chief, with the cause of the violence yet unknown.
“We are extremely concerned,” Mr Araud said. “There is a heavy toll, that’s obvious,” he added.
UN diplomats said they were told that local sources in Juba put the death toll at 400 to 500 and estimated the number of injured at around 800, but these figures could not be verified.
Mr Araud said that for the moment, civilians are not being targeted, and he described the violence as “infighting between soldiers”.
Sporadic but heavy gunfire has been heard across Juba since Sunday as factions of the armed forces repeatedly clashed.
The office of UN chief Ban Ki-moon issued a statement saying the secretary-general is “deeply concerned” about “the risk of targeted violence against certain communities”. He urged everyone to immediately cease their hostilities.
The Security Council also expressed its concern and called “for the government of South Sudan to engage in dialogue with its opponents and to resolve differences peacefully in order to prevent any spread of the current violence.”
The US Embassy said in an advisory that Americans who choose to stay in South Sudan “should review their personal security situation and seriously reconsider their plans.” The embassy suspended its normal operations.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to reporters in Manila, the Philippines, urged all parties in South Sudan to “refrain from any action that can further escalate the tensions”.
“Political differences need to be resolved by peaceful and democratic means. The government should respect the rule of law and the people of South Sudan should be able to realize their full potential,” Kerry said.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir told the nation on Monday that a group of soldiers loyal to Riek Machar, whom he fired as vice presideny in July amid a power struggle, tried to take power by force but were defeated. Mr Kiir then ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital.
The alleged coup attempt took place Sunday when some soldiers raided the main army barracks’ weapons store in Juba but were repelled by loyalists, sparking gunfights across the city, Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told The Associated Press.
Some officials had previously estimated the casualties could be in the hundreds.
There are “disturbing reports of ethnically-targeted killings,” with most of the fighting pitting soldiers from Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe against those from Machar’s Nuer tribe, said Casie Copeland, the South Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group.
“The fighting has been fierce and parts of Juba have been reduced to rubble,” she said.
The South Sudanese military has arrested five political leaders with suspected links to the coup attempt, and many more are still being sought, Benjamin said. The government later said in a statement that 10 people have been arrested in connection with the alleged coup plot, and five remain at large, including Machar.
The US Embassy in Juba and the UN Mission in South Sudan have denied they are harboring Machar, Benjamin added.
The hunt for Machar, an influential politician who is one of the heroes of a brutal war for independence waged against Sudan, threatens to send the country into further political upheaval.
Machar, the deputy leader of the ruling party, said he would contest the presidency in 2015. He has openly criticised Kiir, saying if South Sudan is to be united it cannot tolerate “one man’s rule or it cannot tolerate dictatorship”.
The international community has repeatedly urged South Sudan’s leaders to exercise restraint amid fears the violence could spark wider ethnic violence.
The UN chief told Kiir in a telephone call Tuesday that he expected him “to exercise real leadership at this critical moment, and to instill discipline in the ranks of the (Sudanese military) to stop this fighting among them,” according to UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
South Sudan has been plagued by ethnic tension since it broke away from Sudan in 2011. In the rural Jonglei state, where the government is trying to put down a rebellion, the military itself faces charges of widespread abuses against the Murle ethnic group.
* Associated Press
The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
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Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
The years Ramadan fell in May
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
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More on Quran memorisation:
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
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Our family matters legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: Ghazwan Al Khalediah, Hugo Lebouc, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Dinar Al Khalediah, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
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8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
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Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
