US orders staff to leave African state
The US has ordered non-emergency government personnel in South Sudan to leave the country, citing security concerns following reports of heavy clashes in recent weeks between the African nation's forces and armed youth in the northern town of Nasir.
Several soldiers of the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF), including an army general, were killed on Friday when a UN helicopter came under attack while attempting to evacuate them from troubled Upper Nile State. According to the UN, one crew member died and two others were severely injured.
In a travel advisory issued on Saturday, the US State Department warned of ongoing armed conflict in South Sudan, including fighting between various political and ethnic groups.
'Weapons are readily available to the population,' it stated, adding that US government employees in the East African country are 'under a strict curfew' and 'must use armored vehicles for nearly all movements' due to violent crime, such as shootings, robberies, and kidnappings.
The landlocked state became Africa's newest country after it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. However, it has remained volatile since the end of a five-year civil war that erupted in 2013 over a feud between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his current first vice president, Riek Machar. Despite a 2018 peace deal allowing the rivals to share power, political tensions persist due to President Kiir's frequent dismissals of officials reportedly loyal to Machar.
Security forces arrested two ministers and several senior military officials allied with Machar earlier this month. The move came after tensions began to flare up again when fighting erupted in Nasir on February 14 between Sudanese armed forces and the White Army militia, which is mostly made up of Nuer people, Machar's ethnic group.
Sudanese government spokesperson Michael Makuei accused the vice president of being responsible for the unrest, saying the arrests were made because the Machar-allied officials are in 'conflict with the law.' He said they collaborated with the militia and attacked an army barracks near Nasir on March 4.
In a recent national address, President Kiir vowed that he would 'never' return the country to war. On Friday, an African Union delegation visited South Sudan and urged Kiir to 'create a room for a meeting with the first vice president as soon as possible to help reduce the tension,' according to a government statement.
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