South Sudan crisis: Sushma Swaraj assures Akshay Kumar of swift evacuation

They also delivered food to more than 3,500 people hiding in two churches.

“The situation is calm in Juba and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army [SPLA] is in control of the airport, so what is the motive for UNMISS taking over the airport?” a source close to the presidency, speaking on condition of confidentiality due to restrictions on speaking with the media, told Anadolu Agency.

Around 100 German citizens were still in South Sudan, and those with German organisations would be given priority in the evacuation, said Chebli. “Some of the civilians killed were reportedly targeted on the basis of their ethnicity”, the United Nations special adviser on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, said in a statement Tuesday.

In another apparent parallel with 2013, Uganda said it was sending troops to South Sudan but this time they would only help evacuate Ugandans, Uganda government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said.

The UN’s worries come as Vice President Riek Machar urged the organisation on Wednesday to establish a “buffer zone” between his forces and government troops who are loyal to President Salva Kiir.

Evacuation flights for foreign nationals were able to leave the global airport in Juba, although commercial flights were not expected to resume until Thursday.

Kiir is a member of the Dinka tribe, while Machar is a Nuer, and the dispute has split the country along ethnic lines.

Under heavy worldwide pressure, the rival leaders signed a peace deal last August and recently formed a transitional unity government that installed Machar as first vice president.

Machar was permitted to return with around 1,400 lightly-armed former rebel soldiers and Kiir was supposed to retain no more than 3,400 armed forces, with the city being otherwise “demilitarised”.

Welcoming the ceasefire declared by the leaders of the two sides, OHCHR called on both leaders to exercise their leadership and make a concerted and genuine effort to stop their respective forces from fighting each other, as well as to do their utmost to ensure the protection of the civilian population.

Relief workers should be given freedom of movement, said the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, Eugene Owusu.

“This latest conflict is going to push even more people into hunger and despair”.

On Monday, the United States government ordered the evacuation of all non-essential personnel.

AFRICOM chief Gen. David Rodriguez, in a May interview, said South Sudan was on the brink and could be Africa’s next Mali – a country that faced sudden near collapse a few years ago after government coup and threats from Islamic militants.