UNITED NATIONS, July 12 -- The special representative of the UN secretary-general for South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Loj, strongly urged all parties to adhere to a ceasefire called by both President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar in South Sudan's capital Juba.
The UN envoy called on South Sudanese leaders to ensure that the ceasefire order is conveyed through all security forces chains of command so that soldiers return to their barracks, a UN spokesman told reporters here Tuesday.
Loj also urged security forces in Juba to allow unhindered access to patrols by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to protect the civilian population and called on the parties to allow civilians to move freely to places of refuge, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
"She urged the government to open up corridors to allow UN and humanitarian actors to provide vital supplies and other assistance to the affected civilians, as well as access for medical evacuations," he said.
Also on Tuesday, UNMISS welcomed the ceasefire ordered respectively by South Sudanese President Kiir and Vice President Machar on Monday evening after days of heavy fighting between their forces in Juba.
The ceasefire order took effect from 18:00 local time and any member of the Machar-led forces who surrender must be protected as well. The ceasefire orders came after the UN Security Council called for both sides to end fighting.
Heavy fighting between the rival factions erupted again on Monday. Local residents told Xinhua that heavy artillery shelling and mortars were heard in parts of Juba. It followed deadly clashes on Friday and Sunday in the capital city.
The Health Ministry said at least 271 people were killed in Friday's clashes, while the number of casualties in fighting since Sunday was not yet known.
"UNMISS also reported that the ceasefire seemed to be largely holding, barring sporadic gunfire, and that the airport in the capital had reopened although commercial flights remained suspended," Dujarric said. "Peacekeepers were able to conduct a limited number of short patrols in Juba today."
Since fighting began on July 8, some 5,000 additional internally displaced people have sought protection in the UN's Tomping compound in the capital.
Another 3,000 internally displaced people who arrived at the UN House premise have been relocated to the protection of civilians site nearby.
UNMISS said more than 7,000 people had sought protection in its compounds. UN peacekeepers have been protecting the UN compounds and Protection of Civilian sites, which house internally displaced people.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported that preliminary estimates indicate that at least 36,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, the spokesman noted. "Most of the affected people are women and children."
"The humanitarian situation is grave and the needs are immense, made worse by heavy rains," he said. "Humanitarian partners are assisting wounded civilians within the UN sites and providing health services at the clinic in the ADRA compound. However, the prevailing security situation has severely limited their ability to reach populations in need."
Earlier Tuesday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) issued a statement calling on all armed parties to ensure safe passage for people fleeing the fighting and urging neighbouring countries to keep borders open to people seeking asylum.
In a statement issued on Monday, the UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed deep concern at the threat the renewed fighting posed to the population of South Sudan.
Dieng reminded the South Sudanese government of its responsibility to protect its populations, irrespective of their ethnicity or political affiliation.
He also stressed the urgent need to end impunity in South Sudan and to bring to justice all those responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
The renewed fighting raised fears that the war-torn country could descend into civil war again.
Kiir and former rebel leader Machar have fought a civil war which broke out in December 2013 and left tens of thousands of people dead.
The peace deal signed by the two men last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a national government in April.
