South Sudan's President Salva Kiir returned to Juba on Wednesday after an extended visit to the United Arab Emirates, state media said, a trip that had fuelled rumours about his health.

Members of his entourage, speaking on condition of anonymity, had previously told AFP that Kiir was in the UAE for medical tests, having left on June 22.

Wearing his signature black cowboy hat and delicately leaning on a cane, Kiir was welcomed at the airport by government officials lined up to receive him, as seen in a video shared by the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation.

In a post on Facebook, the state broadcaster said Kiir's UAE trip was "aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and exploring new avenues for economic cooperation."

Fake death rumours

In May, South Sudan's foreign ministry issued a statement denying rumours about his death that had spread online.

According to the ministry, the posts were "entirely baseless and irresponsible rumours fabricated by enemies of peace, development, nation building and stability."

South Sudan has faced months of unrest after Kiir moved to sideline his vice-president and long-time rival, Riek Machar, who was placed under house arrest in March.

Kiir and Machar fought a five-year civil war that cost some 400,000 lives until a power-sharing agreement was signed in 2018.

Fears of a return to civil war

There are fears that South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, could return to full-scale war.

The United Nations said on Wednesday more than 700 people were killed between January and March this year, as tensions once again rose between the rival camps.