Uhuru urges ceasefire as heavy fighting erupts in Juba

President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged the top leadership of South Sudan to urgently move heavy weaponry and huge groups of soldiers out of civilian spaces of the capital Juba to help contain the current situation in the young nation that has gone back to war.

Fresh violence in South Sudan erupted on Friday as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire near Juba State House, where President Salva Kiir was meeting First Vice President Riek Machar, leaving at least 150 fighters dead.

This comes after rival groups failed to reach a 2015 peace deal to end a 20-month civil war.

President Kenyatta said on Sunday that Kenya joined the region, and the global community, in calling for a cessation to brutal actions that endangered the lives of ordinary citizens.

“We urge President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Dr Riek Machar and Vice President James Wani Igga to play the leadership roles the people of South Sudan expect them to play during this critical time. They should work closely together to resolve the latest crisis,” said President Kenyatta in a statement read by State House Spokesperson, Manoah Esipisu.

“We hope stability will soon be restored for the sake of the people of South Sudan, whose freedom was so painfully won.”

Mr Kenyatta said that Kenya together with other countries in the region stood ready to support law enforcement activities in the capital.

The violence coincidently erupted when South Sudan marked its fifth anniversary since independence.

The Friday gun battle lasted for about half an hour then escalated, with heavy weapons and artillery being used in several parts of the city.

Mr Kiir was just after delivering a speech stating that "making South Sudan glorious will only happen if we see ourselves as South Sudanese first rather than tribal or political groupings," according to Juba's Miraya FM station.

The South Sudanese leaders have described the skirmishes as “unfortunate”, adding that they are moving with speed to arrest the situation before more lives are lost.

The two armed parties took up positions in Juba in April after a peace deal was signed in August last year in a bid to end a war that had left tens of thousands dead and millions homeless.