"IOM is deeply concerned by the resumption of violence in Juba five years after independence," IOM Director General William Swing said in a statement issued in Geneva. 

"Many civilians have been displaced by conflict and are directly threatened by the violence that has taken place since last Friday."

"We call on both parties to urgently restore security by immediately disengaging their forces and engaging in dialogue," he said.

"IOM and its humanitarian partners must be allowed to continue their life-saving work in a secure environment with unrestricted access to some 1.61 million people internally displaced by violence and food insecurity since December 2013,” he added.

As a member of both the UN and Humanitarian Country Teams, IOM implements an integrated, multi‐sector approach to reach displaced and conflict-affected populations across South Sudan.