Journalists on the podium following sounds of gun shots heard outside Presidential State House in Juba.
Britain advised its nationals on Saturday to leave South Sudan if they could do so safely, and said it was removing non-essential embassy staff, after a surge of violence in the capital Juba.
"Embassy staff have been on lock down and we are reducing to only essential staff in the country," the foreign ministry said on its travel advice website.
"If you have no pressing need to remain, you should consider leaving by commercial means, if it is safe to do so. If safe passage to the airport is not available then we advise all British nationals in Juba to remain inside," it added.
A military spokesman for South Sudan's opposition said on Saturday that at least 115 soldiers from the country's rival factions had been killed in gun battles in Juba after fighting broke out on Friday evening near where the president was meeting a former rival for talks.
© Thomson Reuters 2016