In this Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013 photo, South Sudan President Salva Kiir attends during a ceremony for Kenya's 50th independence anniversary in Nairobi, Kenya. 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 Kiir fired Riek Machar as his deputy in July. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
December 16, 2013 - 11:50 PM
KAMPALA, Uganda - South Sudan's foreign minister says there was renewed fighting in the capital, Juba, overnight as the military "cleared out remnants" of a faction of soldiers accused of mounting a coup attempt allegedly led by the former deputy president.
Barnaba Marial Benjamin told The Associated Press Tuesday that the military had arrested five political leaders with suspected links to the failed plot but that more were yet to be traced.
He said the alleged coup plotter, former Vice-President Riek Machar, is in hiding.
President Salva Kiir vowed on Monday that the alleged plotters would face justice. The hunt for Machar threatens to send the world's youngest country into further political upheaval following months of a power struggle between Kiir and his former deputy.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013