(Recast) 2nd LD Writethru-Roundup: Fresh gunfire erupts in South Sudan capital

Heavy exchanges of gunfire erupted early Sunday in South Sudan's capital Juba, barely two days after clashes between rival army factions killed more than 100 people.

James Gatdet Dak, a spokesperson for First Vice President Riek Machar, said Machar-led forces had been attacked by troops of President Salva Kiir.

"Our forces have been attacked at Jebel base minutes ago. Sporadic shooting is going on now," he said.

"President Salva Kiir's forces were bombing Jebel site with helicopter gunships and shelling it with heavy artilleries and using tanks. But our forces have defeated them on the ground and pushed them back from different directions," Dak said.

He also confirmed there were heavy fighting at Juba International Airport.

UN sources reported heavy gunfire near their camps in Jebel and a large UN Protection of Civilian (PoC) site nearby.

Helicopter gunships were seen hovering over the city amid reports of artillery shells landing near the UN base in Jebel.

There are also unconfirmed reports of casualties on UN staff and internally displaced people living in the UN PoC site.

Hundreds of civilians were seen fleeing to the two UN bases located in Jebel and Tong Ping respectively, while others were running to the outskirts of Juba.

The two leaders -- Kiir and Machar -- have not commented on the latest round of fighting, which came after clashes outside the presidential palace left more than 100 soldiers dead on Friday.

Friday's gun battle was the most serious fighting since the reconciliation between President Kirr and former rebel leader Machar in April.

The two men on Friday evening called for calm following the deadly clashes. They said they were holding a meeting at the presidential palace when the battle took place.

The renewed violence has raised fears that the war-torn country could descend into conflict again as an August 2015 peace deal failed to ensure stability.

Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 after fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and his then sacked deputy Machar in Juba. Machar denied he was planning a coup but then mobilized a rebel force.

Tens of thousands of people were killed and around 2.3 million displaced in the civil war.

The deal signed by the two men last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a national unity government in April, with Machar returning to his old post.

However despite the peace deal, conflict and instability persist in parts of the country and have spread to previously unaffected areas in the Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal regions.

Last month, deadly clashes in Wau in the northwest killed more than 40 people and displaced about 35,000. Endit