JUBA: The streets of South Sudan's capital were charged with tension on Saturday, the nation's fifth independence anniversary, after two days of sporadic fighting between government and former rebels that raised fears of high casualties.
The latest violence on Friday in the world's youngest country represents yet another blow to a shaky peace deal that has so far failed to end the civil war that broke out in December 2013.
The fresh fighting began when President Salva Kiir and rebel leader turned vice president Riek Machar met at the presidential palace and initially involved each man's bodyguards.
The ensuing shootout, lasting about half an hour, quickly escalated from rifle fire to heavier weapons, raising fears of high casualties as it spread with machine-gun bursts and artillery explosions heard in several parts of town. The shooting subsided as night fell.
A statement issued by South Sudan's embassy in Washington said the exchange of fire between Kiir and Machar's bodyguards followed an earlier deadly altercation that killed five soldiers at a checkpoint on Thursday night. That incident left, "tensions running high and led to a misunderstanding".
A security source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that "dozens" of soldiers had been killed. Local media reports citing a far higher death toll could not be verified.
Kiir and Machar described Friday's violence as "unfortunate".
On Saturday morning tension remained high in the city, with a heavy security presence and few civilians on the streets of Juba.
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