South Sudan on Monday, through the information minister, confirmed that it had carried out airstrikes against rebels in the northwest of the country as hostilities escalated.
Clashes in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar have threatened to undermine their fragile peace-sharing agreement.
According to a county commissioner,more than 20 people, including children, were killed.
South Sudan carries out air strikes against rebels. Photo: Courtesy.
The information minister Michael Makuei Lueth noted that the strikes were part of security operations.
The fighting threatens a 2018 peace deal between Kiir and Machar, who fought a five-year civil war that killed many.
Tensions spiked earlier this month when White Army combatants overran a military encampment in Nasir.
An attempted rescue attempt by the United Nations led to the death of a UN helicopter pilot and senior South Sudanese general.
Lueth also confirmed the presence of Ugandan forces in Juba on a military pact, a week after denying their deployment to South Sudan.
