FILE---In this file photo of Wenesday Oct. 13 2010, Dr. Riek Machar, former Vice President of the Government of South Sudan, presides over an all-southern-parties meeting in Juba, Sudan, Sporadic gunfire rang out early Monday, Dec. 16, 2013, in the South Sudan capital, Juba, in what a senior military official said were clashes between factions of the country's military. There has been political tension in the world's youngest nation since South Sudan President Salva Kir sacked Machar as his deputy in July. The local Sudan Tribune newspaper reported on its website that clashes erupted late Sunday between members of the presidential guard in fighting that seemed to pit soldiers from Kiira's Dinka tribe against those from the Nuer tribe of Machar. (AP Photo/Pete Muller, File)
December 15, 2013 - 10:53 PM
Sporadic gunfire is ringing out in the South Sudan capital, Juba, in what appear to be clashes between sections of the country's military.
An Associated Press reporter saw heavily armed soldiers patrolling the streets of Juba early Monday amid sporadic gunfire emerging from Juba's main army barracks.
It was not possible to get a comment from official government or military spokespeople because of the poor telephone network.
There has been political tension in the world's youngest nation since South Sudan President Salva Kir sacked Riek Machar as his deputy in July. Machar has expressed a willingness to contest the presidency in 2015.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013