(MENAFN) The UK has advised its citizens to leave South Sudan as escalating tensions in the country raise fears of a potential return to civil war. The British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) issued a travel advisory on Thursday, warning that the security situation in the East African nation could quickly worsen.

The advisory urges UK nationals still in South Sudan to depart as soon as possible, emphasizing that routes in and out of the country could soon be blocked, and Juba airport may become inaccessible. This warning follows the British embassy’s decision to reduce its staff and suspend in-person consular services due to security concerns. Similar actions have been taken by the US, which ordered non-emergency personnel to leave, while Germany and Norway temporarily closed their embassies in the country.

South Sudan has been unstable since gaining independence in 2011, and tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar have been growing. The situation has worsened after the recent deaths of Sudanese soldiers during a UN helicopter attack in the Upper Nile state. A military conflict between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces and the White Army militia, composed of Nuer ethnic group members, has intensified. The arrest of Machar, who was placed under house arrest, has led to the collapse of a 2018 peace agreement, pushing the country closer to civil war. The UN has expressed concerns that this move could result in the dismantling of the peace accord.

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