Uganda has deployed an unknown number of troops to South Sudan in a bid to protect the fragile government of President Salva Kiir as a tense rivalry with his deputy threatens a return to civil war in the east African nation.

Uganda has deployed special forces to South Sudan's capital, Juba, to help President Salva Kiir to "secure it", Uganda's military chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has said. The move comes as tensions escalate between Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar,

Ugandan special forces have been deployed to South Sudan's capital, the Ugandan army chief said Tuesday, after rising tensions that have threatened a

South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, has been repeatedly consumed by deadly feuding among politicians and militia leaders since its independence from Sudan in 2011. An estimated 400,000 people died in prolonged fighting in the oil-rich African country from 2013 to 2018.

The arrests in Juba and deadly clashes around the northern town of Nasir are seen as jeopardising a 2018 peace deal.

The Ugandan army confirmed Sunday it has sent troops to another town in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo to fight local armed groups, amid fears a raging conflict could spiral into a wider war.

Uganda has deployed special forces in South Sudan's capital Juba to "secure it", Uganda's military chief said on Tuesday, but South Sudan's information minister denied the presence of troops, as tensions between South Sudan's president and first vice president stoke fears of a return to war.