Two bodyguards of the Upper Nile State governor have been killed in Malakal fighting, an official has said.
The state Minister of Information, Peter Hoth, reported earlier that a heavy fighting between government troops and forces suspected to be loyal to General Johnson Olony erupted last evening.
Peter Hoth told Eye Radio that the fighting started yesterday between body guards of the governor, Simon Kun, and those of General Olony.
The two sides disagreed over usage of a road leading to the main hospital.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan has confirmed the fighting.
“We are receiving a steady flow of civilians coming into our base for protection. This fight started yesterday and is continuing this morning,” said Joseph Contreras, mission’s acting spokesperson.
“We have beefed up security around our protection site and also, we have our patrol in the area. We don’t have any of our peace keepers in the central part of Malakal town. But we do have the Rwandan peace keepers in the area patrolling and gathering information on the fight.”
Mr Contreras added that more than 1,500 civilians have fled to the UNMISS camp since last evening.
Who’s Olony?
Gen Olony formerly belonged to a loose rebel coalition called SSDM/A which fought the government from 2011 into 2013.
The general was granted amnesty by President Kiir through a presidential decree in April 2013. He moved his forces from Sudan into South Sudan in June 2013 after accepting the presidential pardon.
Olony began the process of integration into SPLA in mid to late 2013 and came to Juba to negotiate the terms of the integration of his troops.
By the time of the crisis broke out in December 2013, the integration process of his group had been completed.