South Sudan President and his deputy call for cease fire

South Sudanese authorities on Sunday called for calm and restraint after three days of violence that left at least 272 dead in the country’s capital Juba.

A government statement that was read on state television announced that the situation was under control and urged people to return home.

Renewed fighting that has pushed the president and his vice president to appeal for calm.

“I’m going to call my opposition colleagues tomorrow so that we can sit down and clear any unfinished business,” President Salva Kiir said.

“We want to continue the peace dialogue in order to resolve issues that have thrown this country into conflict,” deputy president Riek Machar said.

Midweek, the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon had expressed his “concern” about a situation, terming it as betrayal to the people of South Sudan, who have already been victims of horrific atrocities since December 2013.

Fighting between South Sudanese regular forces and former rebels had intensified on Sunday, extending several districts of the capital Juba, especially near the city’s main airport.