UN mission in South Sudan 'deeply concerned' by clashes between Government and opposition forces

30 January 2017 - Amid an outbreak of violence in the South Sudanese city of Malakal, the United Nations mission in the country today called on the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition to silence the guns.

"The Mission reiterates its call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and fully implement the peace agreement," according to a statement from the Office of the Spokesperson at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

UNMISS said that as of Sunday, the situation in the town remained "tense." UN peacekeepers are continuing to regularly patrol the northern town, and report that it is "largely deserted."

The UN Mission "will continue to act within its capacity to protect South Sudanese civilians in imminent danger," the spokesperson said, calling for humanitarian aid and access to the affected areas.

South Sudan has faced ongoing challenges since a political face-off between President Salva Kiir and his then former Vice-President Riek Machar erupted into full blown conflict between forces loyal to each in December 2013. The crisis has produced one of the world's worst displacement situations with immense suffering for civilians.

Despite the August 2015 peace agreement that formally ended the war, conflict and instability have also spread to previously unaffected areas in the Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal regions of the country.