Rapid gunfire continue to ricochet in Bentiu, Bor and in villages where the Lou-Nuer have established a guard to ward off government troops.
Amid this, the whispering tremolo in Jonglei, the barren solitude in Juba, and the constant waiting for the guns to go silent, has touched one or a few, here and there.
Tens of thousands have been displaced and about 1000 dead.
Kenyans and Britons make the bulk of foreigners trapped in Juba.
Intelligence sources put the number at 3000 Kenyans and Britons.
Kenya has sent evacuations teams, units drawn from the Kenya Defense Forces. The evacuation plane is guarded and given air-cover by armored gunship helicopters from Kenya’s 50th Air Calvary.
The rebels supporting Riek Machar attempted to shoot down an American evacuation aircraft, wounding four American military officials.
United States immediately deployed marines from Camp Lemonuer in Djibouti and warned of military strikes on positions of militia that would attack its forces in South Sudan engaging in evacuation.
The rebels also attacked a UN Peacekeeping compound killing several personnel there.
Talk of a ceasefire has surfaced, same case with peace talks in Ethiopia. Riek Machar has set terms, insisting his political friends should leave jail.
Not so Surprising that the wife of the late John Garang is one of them among other ministers.
Machar claims he has had talks with American diplomats, U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and U.N. envoy Hilde Johnson.
It is a matter of time, and South Sudan may see peace.
The core of the coup in South Sudan is the Lou-Nuer Red-Army, an 8000 strong tribal militia whose commanders serve the SPLA.
Intelligence in Juba may have not seen the danger posed by the tribal militia whose leadership serves the national army.
Sacking Riek Machar and subsequent political undertones against the Juba administration sparked the tribal strife and an attempted coup.
Riek Machar political future will be very challenging after failing in his attempt to overthrow the government.
