JUBA, South Sudan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Non-emergency personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Juba were ordered to leave Wednesday because of violence in the South Sudan capital, the State Department said.
Embassy personnel will assist U.S. citizens who wish to depart Juba with flights scheduled to leave the embattled capital, the State Department said in a statement.
"U.S. citizens should review their personal security situation and consider taking advantage of planned flights arranged by the Department of State, as the embassy is able to provide only limited emergency consular services," the statement said. "Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible U.S. citizens."
Meanwhile, South Sudan's former vice president, Riek Machar, denied any involvement in an alleged coup attempt in Juba, saying it was another attempt by President Salva Kiir to shed his critics, the Sudan Tribune reported.
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"There was no coup. What took place in Juba was a misunderstanding between presidential guards within their division. It was not a coup attempt. I have no connection with or knowledge of any coup attempt," Machar said in an interview with the Tribune, his first comments since violence erupted Sunday.
On Monday, Kiir accused Machar of involvement in Sunday's attack on a military base in Juba. The president said a group of soldiers aligned with Machar attacked the army headquarters near Juba University.
Kiir said the Sudan People's Liberation Movement was committed to the peaceful and democratic transfer of power, vowing not to allow political power to be transferred through violence.
However, Machar, whom Kiir sacked during the summer, said the president was making false accusation against his detractors to frustrate the democratic process, the Tribune said.
Because Kiir violated the South Sudan Constitution continuously, he was "no longer a legal president," Machar told the Tribune.
"What we wanted was to democratically transform the SPLM, but Salva Kiir wanted to use the alleged coup attempt in order to get rid of us" so he can control the government and the army, Machar said. "We don't want him the president of South Sudan anymore."
On Tuesday, the government announced it was seeking the arrests of Machar and other officials, including suspended SPLM Secretary-General Pagan Amum, former Unity Gov. Taban Deng, and Foreign Ministers Alfred Lado Gore and Adwok Nyaba.
