UN warns of new S. Sudan fighting as humanitarian crisis grows

The United Nations warned of fresh fighting in South Sudan, after days of deadly gun battles that have sent thousands fleeing and sparked the evacuation of foreign nationals.
Fears of a humanitarian crisis were growing with aid agencies -- themselves forced to restrict their work because of the security situation -- saying there were shortages of food and water.
A fragile ceasefire nevertheless appeared to be holding in the capital Juba for the second day after a sudden flare-up in fighting last week that threatened to drive the world's newest country back into all-out civil war.
As the guns remained silent, President Salva Kiir said, he was granting an amnesty, with effect from Wednesday, to the ex-rebels loyal to longtime rival Riek Machar who battled government troops in Juba over four days.

But the situation remains precarious, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the Security Council.
"We remain very worried about the potential for the resumption of violence and spill-over into other parts of the country, as we have seen in the past," he said yesterday.

Thousands of South Sudanese were clamouring to cross the border into Uganda.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced the deployment of 47 troops to protect the US embassy and its staff.
"Although equipped for combat, these additional personnel are deployed for the purpose of protecting US citizens and property," Obama wrote in a letter to Congress released by the White House.

Obama also said that 130 more personnel were positioned in Djibouti and ready to deploy if necessary.
While US troops will not have a combat role, their presence will not go unnoticed by rival factions.
Meanwhile Germany and Italy said they were evacuating their nationals and other foreigners, although commercial flights were not expected to resume until today.
Around 200 people, including the hundred or so Germans living in South Sudan, were evacuated to Uganda by the German air force, the foreign ministry in Berlin said.
Residents from Britain, France Australia, the United States, Poland and elsewhere were also on the German flights, as well as three Chinese UN peacekeepers.

The United Nations said around 36,000 people had fled their homes for the perceived safety of UN bases, churches and aid agency compounds since the unrest erupted on Friday.