Norway has temporarily closed its embassy in Juba as fighting escalates in South Sudan

Norway has decided to temporarily close its embassy in South Sudan's capital Juba due to the deteriorating security situation in the country, the Foreign Ministry has announced.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the work of the Norwegian Embassy in Juba would be temporarily transferred to the Kenyan capital Nairobi until the situation stabilized.

South Sudan has recently seen a series of armed clashes, with the opposition accusing government forces of launching attacks on two training bases near Juba, undermining the terms of a 2018 peace deal to integrate the army. The clashes have heightened tensions between supporters of President Salva Kiir and first Vice President Riek Machar, raising fears that the country could slip back into civil war.