Juba: Disgruntled soldiers and politicians led by a former vice president attempted to overthrow the South Sudanese government, a top government official said Monday, as sporadic fighting continued between factions of the military in the latest violence to hit the world's youngest nation.
Some troops within the main army base raided the weapons store in the capital but were repulsed, South Sudanese Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told The Associated Press Monday.
The military insisted the situation in Juba was tense but unlikely to get worse.
Some politicians had been arrested, he said, but could not confirm if former Vice President Riek Machar—who he said led the attempted coup—was among those in detention.
President Salva Kiir had ordered a dawn-to-dusk curfew, he said.
Explosions and sporadic gunfire rang out early Monday in Juba amid repeated clashes between factions of the military, according to Col. Philip Aguer, the South Sudan military spokesman, who insisted later on Monday that the army was now “in full control of Juba.”
