South Sudan soldiers patrol the street in Juba, South Sudan on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. BRIAN INGANGA / AP

At least 14 soldiers were killed and several others injured in South Sudan after a suspected "love triangle" dispute led to a deadly shootout, the army said on Wednesday.

A clash between members of the Unified VIP Protection Force, which comprises government troops and opposition fighters, erupted on Monday at a market near the oil-rich Abyei Box region, which straddles the border between Sudan and South Sudan.

A fragile power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, has been unravelling for months, threatening to return the young nation to a civil war that left 400,000 dead in the 2010s.

Machar was indicted last month on charges of murder, treason and crimes against humanity, and was stripped of his position as first vice president in the unity government, further fueling fears of renewed tensions. Machar's spokesperson condemned the move as a "political witch-hunt," BBC News reported.

According to South Sudan People's Defence Forces spokesman Lul Ruai Koang, Monday's dispute began between two officers, one pro-Machar and the other pro-Kiir.

"There are two conflicting accounts regarding the cause of the crisis: first version says it was a purely personal misunderstanding between the two officers at a tea place and the other says it was a love triangle," Koang told reporters during a press briefing at the army general headquarters in the capital Juba.

"The two men reportedly quarreled after both were reported to be romantically involved with the same lady," he said.

The situation escalated when the Machar-aligned officer shot his Kiir-aligned counterpart, prompting their respective bodyguards to open fire.

Violence then erupted from the market, spreading to primary checkpoints and barracks, Koang said.

"A total of 14 servicemen were killed: six from the SPLA-IO (Machar's party) and eight from the SSPDF," Koang confirmed.

One civilian was reportedly caught in the crossfire, with their condition yet to be confirmed, while five soldiers were injured and are receiving treatment.

Koang said the incident was not "politically motivated" but confirmed that an investigation has been launched.

The United Nations rights chief warned last month that South Sudan is on the brink of renewed war, as nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed in surging violence this year.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but quickly fell into a five-year civil war.

A 2018 peace deal ended the fighting, but leaders have repeatedly failed to hold elections or unify their armed forces. The United Nations, African Union and neighboring countries are calling for calm in the world's newest country, BBC News reported.

On Tuesday, an international ceasefire monitor said parties to South Sudan 's faltering peace agreement have recruited new fighters and abducted children to participate in the conflict. Tuesday's statement by the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, or RJMEC, said South Sudan's military in June opened a recruitment drive for 4,000 forces for peacekeeping and other purposes and that it opened a new training center in August.

A statement read by Anita Kiki Gbeho, the second most senior U.N. official in the country, said that civilian casualties resulting from the conflict between January and September had risen 59% compared to the same period in 2024.

Roughly 321,000 people had been displaced by fighting, and incidents affecting humanitarian access had doubled from the previous year, she said.

Earlier this year, the United States ordered the immediate departure of non-emergency personnel from the capital of South Sudan, citing an increase in crime, kidnapping and armed conflict.

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