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Fighting erupted on Tuesday near the capital Juba, Juba, between government forces and activists who refused to sign a peace agreement, a rebel group said.
Security was strengthened in Juba, according to an AFP correspondent, as clashes erupted in Lobonok, 50 kilometers (100 km) away, the first of its kind since the signing of the agreement of peace in September.
The National Salvation Front (NAS), formed in 2017 by ex-general Thomas Cirillo Swaka, who called for the fall of President Salva Kiir's government, said he had been attacked on Tuesday morning.
In a statement, the NAS claimed to have killed eight "enemy soldiers", which can not be independently confirmed.
"NAS command in Lobonok is expecting more attacks," the statement said.
Lobonok is close to the birthplace of Cirillo and has long been a stronghold of the rebel group.
The latest fighting in the region took place in June 2018.
"Since the morning we have not had access to our commanders on the ground [in Lobonok] and we have no information about it there, "AFP Lul Ruai Koang, spokesman for the South Sudanese Army, told AFP.
However, soldiers were deployed to Juba, carrying out more security checks than usual, said the AFP correspondent.
In September, the government of South Sudan concluded a peace agreement with the main opposition unit of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, but the SIN rejected it.
While peace was largely maintained across the country, fighting continued between government troops and the NAS in the Central Equatoria region, especially around the city of Yei.
The United Nations Mission in Southern Sudan (UNMISS) said earlier this month that civilians have been "deliberately and brutally targeted" in Central Equatoria since the signing of the agreement, in September.
At least 104 people were killed during attacks targeting villages in the southern region of the country, the paper said.
A similar number of women and girls were raped or otherwise badually badaulted between September and April, UNMISS said in its latest report on human rights.
South Sudan entered the war in 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former MP and former rebel leader Riek Machar of planning a coup d'etat.
The conflict was marked by ethnic violence and brutal atrocities and left some 380,000 dead and about four million fleeing their homes.
The report identified government forces, allied fighters in Machar and rebel groups that did not sign the peace agreement, responsible for atrocities in their attempt to conquer a territory in central Equatoria.
As part of the peace agreement, Kiir agreed to set up a government union with Machar, who is expected to return from exile.
But this new government, which was originally scheduled to take office on May 12, has been postponed for six months.
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