The Minister for Foreign Affairs says his Department is very concerned about the deteriorating security situation in South Sudan.

In a statement this evening Minster Flanagan said he’s monitoring the situation closely and he said his Embassy team in Addis Ababa is liaising with Irish citizens in the Capital Juba.

It comes as 150 soldiers were killed in fighting in Juba on the eve of the country’s fifth anniversary of independence.

Feargal O’Connell from Concern is one of three Irish citizens currently on lockdown in the city:

“In terms of what the Irish Government can do, I think they can join the chorus of all of the calls across the globe calling for peace in South Sudan at the moment.”