Hundreds of young people taking part in an Anglican youth festival in South Sudan were forced to flee after a gun battle erupted.

The three-day outreach festival in the Anglican Diocese of Juba attracted up to 1,000 young people, according to Anglican News. The Juba diocesan secretary, Rev Jackson Aripa, was closing the festival when he was interrupted by gunshots. The congregation fled as bullets flew above them.

There were no casualties, but three young people were badly injured as they sought refuge in a small church hall. The gun battle continued until late into the night, forcing them to remain in the church until morning. They later spoke of having to lie flat while government and rebel soldiers shot at each other.

Juba Diocese youth coordinator David Luate later encouraged the young people to persevere in organising such meetings and advised them to remain strong in their faith. He appealed for Christians to pray for South Sudan.

The incident is the latest in a series of clashes between the government and rebel forces resulting from rivalry between President Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar. Hundreds have died in the latest outbreaks and aid agencies are warning of a spiralling humanitarian crisis. A statement from 10 aid agencies including Christian Aid said: "Violence and insecurity continue in Juba and are spreading to other states despite a fragile ceasefire in a country where half the population relies on humanitarian aid."

Even before the latest fighting, the agencies said, 4.8 million people did not have enough to eat and 2.5 million people had fled their homes.