South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar takes the oath of office at the State House in Juba, South Sudan, February 22, 2020. REUTERS/Samir Bol/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

JUBA, Sept 2 (Reuters) – At least four soldiers and 10 militia members were killed in fighting in an area of South Sudan where previous clashes led to the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, the military said on Tuesday.

The arrest of Machar – a longtime rival of President Salva Kiir – in March prompted international calls for restraint and stirred fears of a return to civil war between Kiir’s Dinka forces and Nuer fighters loyal to Machar.

Fighters from the so-called White Army, a militia Machar’s opponents say is linked to the SPLM-IO party he leads, attacked the South Sudan military on Monday in an area in Upper Nile state, near Nasir town, South Sudan military spokesperson Garang Ateny said.

The northeastern town is where violence that led to Machar’s detention erupted early this year.

“They (White Army) carried out three separate attacks on our position,” Ateny said, adding the army had lost four soldiers in the clash while 10 attackers were killed.

The spokespeople for SPLM-IO and the White Army could not be immediately reached. Machar and his party deny any current links to the White Army.

Kiir, a Dinka, has served in an uneasy power-sharing government with Machar, a Nuer, since a 2018 peace deal ended an ethnically-tinged civil war between fighters loyal to the two men which killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Machar’s detention, for trying to stir up a rebellion through his supposed support for the White Army militia, has ignited fears of renewed conflict along ethnic lines.

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