The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has said that clashes in the capital Juba were due to an “attempted coup”.
The president said soldiers loyal to ousted Vice-President Riek Machar were behind the fighting, which erupted the shots were fired near a ruling party conference.
"This was followed later by an attack at the SPLA (South Sudan army) headquarters near Juba University by a group of soldiers allied to the former vice-president Dr Riek Machar and his group. These attacks continued until this morning," Kiir said.
"However, I would like to inform you, at the outset, that your government is in full control of the security situation in Juba."
Kiir has now declared a curfew between 6pm and 6am.