South Sudan opposition decries strike as US warns of rise in violence

South Sudan President Salva Kiir, opposition leader Riek Machar, and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemeti" hold hands after their peace talk at the State House in Juba, South Sudan, on December 17, 2019. [AFP]

The South Sudan opposition said one of its army bases near the capital Juba was bombarded late Monday as Washington warned it was "deeply concerned" by escalating violence between the rival factions.

Clashes between forces allied to President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, have left their 2018 power-sharing agreement increasingly fragile and threaten to plunge the country back into civil war.