Feature: South Sudanese wary of going home despite relative calm in Juba

Monica Kiden remains hesitant. It is not yet time to return to her permanent home from her temporary residence, a makeshift camp for those displaced by the fierce fighting which started on July 7 in Juba, the South Sudanese capital.

"I cannot go home. I am better off here. Let me stay here," Kiden, mother of five, told Xinhua on Wednesday at the St. Joseph Primary School, a Catholic Church-run institution which is now hosting scores of people freshly displaced by the fighting in the capital.

President Salva Kiir declared a unilateral ceasefire after nearly four days of fighting between forces loyal to him and a contingent of bodyguards assigned to First Vice President Riek Machar.

"There is no shooting and the situation appears good. However, I will leave this place only if our leaders tell us that there is no more fighting coming the next day," Kiden said.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) estimates that the latest fighting in Juba has internally displaced at least 40,000 people, adding the number of the displaced people in Juba and other towns to 160,000 people.

Most of the people displaced by three-day fighting remain skeptical of returning home despite declaration of ceasefire by the country's rival leaders. The ceasefire appears to be holding.

Louis Sakwana, who fled her home on July 10 at the height of the fierce fighting, which took place in the middle of crowded neighborhoods, fears returning home but remains anxious about the safety of her personal belongings.

Sakwana, mother of nine children, also sought refuge at St. Joseph Primary School after being uprooted by the fighting.

"I will return home to check on my property and other belongings during the day and return to sleep at the school at night because the situation remains volatile around Juba.

President Kiir and Machar both declared a ceasefire and resolved to work toward the restoration of full confidence within the forces after an incident in which five soldiers were killed a day before the full-blown fighting broke out in Juba.

East African leaders, including Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, called on the South Sudanese leaders to move heavy weaponry outside the neighborhoods with civilians and ceasefire.

The fighting brought a serious humanitarian situation which has affected parts of the capital, including those who fled for their personal safety to the makeshift camps for the internally displaced.

"I have been here without food for the past three days. My nine children feed on biscuits brought by an organization. They said food is coming, but it is not reaching us. I feel like going home, but I still fear because the soldiers may still fight again and chase us away," Sakwana said.

Sakwana called on the leaders of South Sudan to end their differences by embracing dialogue to serve the people of South Sudan from the ongoing suffering.

"Hospitals are all closed. People are dying. Children cannot go to school," Sakwana lamented.

"Many ordinary people like us are suffering due to lack of food. Even with the little money I carried, I cannot buy any food because the few open shops around are empty. They should stop this fighting. We want our children to go to school."

There was some intense fighting around the camps under the UNMISS management. On Tuesday, UNMISS called on the government to grant access to humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance to displaced persons who are in dire need of help.

South Sudan descended into full-blown conflict in December 2013 after fighting between rival forces loyal to President Kiir and Machar spread across the country.

More than 2 million people are thought to have been displaced and thousands killed during the civil conflict. An internationally brokered peace deal was signed in August 2015 leading to the formation of a national unity government. Endit