[5] On 3 July, a soldier loyal to Machar, Lieutenant Colonel George Gismala was killed by government security personnel.

[10] The fighting started with an incident on 7 July, as soldiers loyal to Machar were stopped at a checkpoint in Juba's Gudele district.

[13][14] In the following night, government troops attacked armored cars belonging to United States diplomats, though nobody was hurt.

[15] On 8 July, Kiir and Machar met in the presidential palace for a press conference, attempting to defuse the situation.

[3][16] As the two talked to journalists, Machar's bodyguards parked their cars next to those of Kiir's Presidential Guard (known as "Tiger Battalion").

Journalist Peter Martell argued that this action was probably not motivated by any sympathy of Kiir for Machar, but the former's belief that it would reflect badly on him if his rival were to be killed at the presidential palace.

[22] The government troops used tanks to break through the defenses of Machar's personal compound, forcing him to flee on foot.

Human Rights Watch commented that had UN peacekeepers patrolled "key areas", fewer rapes would have occurred.

The HRW also noted that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeepers at Thongpiny base took more than six hours to let fleeing civilians in.

During and after the battle, government forces blocked fleeing civilians, and a journalist who had written a critical editorial on the clashes was detained.

The first flight left Juba on 15 July (South Sudan Time), carrying 143 individuals including ten women and three infants.

I strongly urge President Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar to do everything within their power to de-escalate the hostilities immediately and to order their respective forces to disengage and withdraw to their bases.

This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process...[23][39] The United Nations Security Council, after an emergency meeting on the crisis,[14] issued a statement calling for an immediate cessation to the fighting and for both Kiir and Machar to do their utmost to control their respective forces.

[41] Sudan condemned the conflict, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir urged Kiir and Machar in telephone calls to use self-restraint.