Juba International Airport has reopened to traffic following a two-day closure brought on by an outbreak of fighting in the city this past weekend.

Several airlines, among them Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) and Astral Aviation (8V, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta), have since resumed flights to the South Sudanese capital primarily to assist in the evacuation of foreign nationals.

Kenya Airways says it has deployed its B737-800 onto the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta-Juba route while Astral Aviation says it has leased a Fokker 100 to ply the same route on a daily basis. Its cargo flights will resume on July 15, it said.

The governments of Japan, the United States, and the European Union will organize their own evacuation flights in the coming days. The Luftwaffe (GAF, Cologne/Bonn) and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (Nagoya Komaki) have already airlifted their country's citizens to neighbouring countries.

Fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar has left up to 400 people dead in recent days. Though Kiir called for a general ceasefire on Monday, Machar has since left the capital for the relative safety of the countryside.