Officials in Central Equatoria state said Tuesday that four soldiers were killed and several more wounded in a shootout at a military barracks in Yei River county, in the south of the country.
Yei mayor Santo Paul Lasuba said the deadly incident appeared to have been sparked by a disagreement over pay. A former commander at the barracks accused the new commander of witholding pay that he was owed from months earlier.
"Without any conversation, he started to load his pistol and start to shoot the lieutenant colonel," Lasuba said.
Lasuba said three soldiers loyal to the former commander and one soldier loyal to the lieutenant colonel who is in command now were killed in the shooting incident.
The new commander was shot in the chest. He was rushed to Juba for treatment.
The former commander who opened fire on his successor has been arrested and is in custody, Lasuba said. Security has been stepped up at the barracks.
Another dispute over pay in March left at least five soldiers dead at the Giada barracks in Juba, the headquarters of the South Sudan army's ground forces and the same military barracks where fighting erupted in December, triggering the conflict that is still claiming lives in parts of the country.