South Sudan arrests dissidents after 'attempted coup'

Several of those men were arrested late yesterday, sources in Juba told The Telegraph.

“This prophet of doom continues to persistently pursue his actions of the past and I have to tell you that I will not allow or tolerate such incidents once again in our new nation,” Mr Kiir said, referring to Mr Machar.

“I strongly condemn these criminal actions in the strongest terms possible.” He insisted that his forces were in control of Juba, but Col Philip Aguer, the army spokesman, said late yesterday that 300 mutinying soldiers were still at large on the city’s outskirts.

The British and US embassies in Juba warned their citizens in the country to stay indoors. The UN’s top diplomat to South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said she was “deeply concerned” over the fighting.

Questions were immediately asked as to whether there was a genuine coup attempt, or whether Mr Kiir had exaggerated a minor military clash in order to move on Mr Machar and his supporters.

South Sudan won its independence from Sudan in 2011 after its people voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to split from the north and form a new nation.

Political tensions have recently worsened. Earlier this month key figures including Mr Machar and Rebecca Garang, the widow of John Garang, South Sudan’s founding father, publicly accused Mr Kiir of being dictatorial.