Norway has announced the temporary closure of its embassy in South Sudan due to escalating security concerns.

It has urged its citizens to leave as clashes intensify between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and the White Army militia, which the government accuses of siding with First Vice President Riek Machar.

The renewed fighting threatens to unravel the 2018 power-sharing agreement and push the country back into civil war. 

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide cited the deteriorating security situation and risks to embassy staff as reasons for the closure.

He stated that Norway’s embassy in Nairobi will handle diplomatic affairs for South Sudan until further notice.

The Norwegian government also advised against travel to the country.

South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, previously endured a five-year civil war that claimed 400,000 lives before the fragile peace deal brought Kiir and Machar into a unity government.