Once again the city of South Sudan, Juba is in turmoil and violence as there has been a breach of peace among the rival armed groups since Thursday. With the high tension, there are  fears of the nation might slide back into conflict. After the clashes, the UN Security Council has urged to urgently end the fighting that has engulfed the city.

It has been reported that around  272 people have died. More than 1,000 people have fled to the UN compound in Juba due to the high violence. The violence also targeted the United Mission(UNMISS) sites  in the capital which were hit by small and heavy arms fire.

The violence broke between rival military factions on Thursday night in Juba, which turned into  major fighting on Friday outside the presidential compound. The fighting quickly spread throughout the city.

The members of the Security Council urged an immediate end to the fighting by all concerned and demanded that President Kiir and First Vice President Machar do their utmost to control their respective forces, urgently end the fighting and prevent the spread of violence.

The UN Council has condemned the  attacks on UN compounds, which killed and wounded Chinese and Rwandan peacekeepers, the council also demanded that civilian sites be protected and warned that “attacks against civilians and UN premises and personnel may constitute war crimes”.

On July 9, 2011, South Sudan was founded with optimistic celebrations as  it gained independence from Sudan in a referendum that passed with close to 100 percent of the vote.

The country descended into conflict in December 2013 after Kiir accused Machar, his former deputy who he had sacked earlier that year, of plotting a coup.

Civil war broke out when soldiers from Kiir’s Dinka ethnic group disarmed and targeted troops of Machar’s Nuer ethnic group. Machar and commanders loyal to him fled to the countryside, and tens of thousands of people died in the conflict that followed. Many starved to death.

A peace agreement signed in August saw Machar rejoin the government and his forces re-enter Juba as the first step towards integration into a national army.