Bangladeshi peacekeepers safe: ISPR
Amid the sporadic gunfights between army loyal to President Salva Kiir and supporters of Vice-President Riek Machar in South Sudanese capital Juba, United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh posted in the African nation are safe and secured, an ISPR release said yesterday.
According to the sources, the two forces engaged in fierce gunfight near Presidential Palace and United Nations Camp on July 8, resulting in the deaths of around 150 people.
Occasional gunfights have been reported yesterday too in the suburban Jebel area.
Speaking yesterday afternoon, Information Minister Michael Makuei blamed the former rebels for the fighting and insisted the government was "in full control of Juba" even as shooting could be heard in parts of the city.
Makuei said President Salva Kiir would call for a ceasefire later in the day. "We are expecting his Excellency the president will issue a unilateral ceasefire, binding on his forces. We hope the First Vice President Riek Machar will follow suit," he said.
The violence comes a day after the world's youngest country marked its fifth independence anniversary, and is a fresh blow to a peace deal that has failed to end the civil war that broke out in December 2013.
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