REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEW YORK -- The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is concerned about a number of shooting incidents that occurred in the country's capital of Juba on Wednesday, a UN spokesman said.

"Fighting seems to have initially taken place around 9 a.m. local time in the barracks of the Sudan People's Liberation Army ( SPLA) in the Jebel area, not far from UN House," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here.

Additional reports indicated sporadic shooting in several locations in Juba, including around the university and the World Food Programme warehouse, and near the UN Mission Compound in Tomping, he said.

"As of mid-day local time, SPLA troops were deployed across the city, and several roads in and around the capital were also blocked by the authorities," he said. "Currently, the situation appears to be calm in Juba, although security checkpoints remain in the city."

The UNMISS also reported that some 70 additional civilians have sought safety in the UN House site, he said.

"In all, the Mission continues to protect approximately 43,000 civilians at two sites in Juba and more than 77,000 civilians at UN sites throughout the country," he said.

Separately, in Nassir in South Sudan's Upper Nile State, the Mission reported that armed youth continue to fire sporadically in the town.

On Tuesday, a stray bullet hit an office of the UN Mission, but no injuries were sustained. The Mission reiterates its call on all parties to respect the work and sanctity of UN premises.

South Sudan witnessed a conflict which began on Dec. 15 when President Salva Kiir's government said soldiers loyal to former deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed in July, launched an attempted coup.

The UN said, the fighting has led to well over a thousand deaths and the displacement of at least 122,000 people, some 63, 000 of whom have taken refuge in UN bases in the country.

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