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Germany, Italy begin evacuating nationals from South Sudan

Wednesday, 13 July 2016 12:46 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 13 July 2016 12:46 PM ]

Families wait after they find shelter at Saint Joseph's church compound in Juba, South Sudan, July 12, 2016. (AFP photo)

Germany and Italy have started evacuating nationals and some citizens from other European countries from South Sudan as fighting keeps surging across the African country.

"The government's crisis task force has decided to evacuate German, European and international citizens from South Sudan," German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Sawsan Chebli, said on Wednesday, adding that the ongoing evacuation process is carried out by German air force planes.

Chebli added that the priority in the evacuation would be for those with German organizations, adding that some 100 German nationals still remain in South Sudan.

Germany's evacuation program would also include other foreigners, she said. The German official did not elaborate on the nationalities of those foreigners due to security concerns.

Italy also announced the start of evacuation from South Sudan on Wednesday with officials in Rome saying that a military plane carrying 30 Italians and an unspecified number of other EU citizens departed Wednesday morning for its base in Djibouti.

Chaos in Juba

A new wave of conflict has gripped South Sudan over the past days.

About 300 people were killed in a matter of hours on July 8, prompting concerns that the world’s youngest country would again slip into chaos. Gunfire erupted on that day near the state house, where President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar were meeting for talks.

A shaky ceasefire has been holding across the volatile country over the past couple of days following the deadly clashes of July 8.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The country has gone through turmoil ever since.

The conflict in South Sudan has exposed deep ethnic divisions. It erupted after a power struggle between President Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, and rebel leader Machar, a member of the Nuer ethnic group.

Machar withdrew with his troops Wednesday to outside of Juba, his spokesman said, but he is not planning for war.

In another turn of events, officials in Juba announced recently that a new militant group had been formed in the western city of Wau and that fighting may escalate.

Reports said the new group comprises former government troops, fighters from the Uganda-led rebel group Lord's Resistance Army, and a Sudanese militia called the Janjaweed.

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