THE US has abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying the country’s government has failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.” The decision means South Sudanese could be returned to a nation again on the brink of civil war or unable to seek the US as a haven.
Tension is rising in South Sudan after the vice president was put under house arrest. South Sudan is on the brink of another civil war, the United Nations has warned, after weeks of escalating violence and rising tensions between VP Machar and President Kiir. In short, Sudan's conflict could be merging with South Sudan's conflicts. Read more in four reports below.
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By Cara Anna
Dated Sunday, 06 April 2025, 5:35 PM GMT - full copy:
The US has revoked visas for South Sudanese while civil war threatens at home
South Sudan soldiers patrol the street in Juba, South Sudan on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
FILE - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir attends the swearing-in ceremony for Kenya's new president William Ruto, at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
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FILE - South Sudanese president Salva Kiir Mayardit, left, shakes hands with Pagan Amum Okiech, leader of the Real-SPLM group, during the launch of high-level peace talks for South Sudan at State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
The United States once cheered the creation of South Sudan as an independent nation. Now the Trump administration has abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying the country’s government has failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.”
The decision means South Sudanese could be returned to a nation again on the brink of civil war or unable to seek the U.S. as a haven.
There was no immediate response from South Sudan’s government, which has struggled since independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver some of the basic services of a state. Years of conflict have left the country of over 11 million people heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by another Trump administration decision — sweeping cuts in foreign assistance.
Here’s a look at South Sudan, whose people had been granted temporary protected status by the U.S. because of insecurity at home. That status expires on May 3.
A deadly divide
The euphoria of independence turned to civil war two years later, when rival factions backing President Salva Kiir and deputy Riek Machar opened fire on each other in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, in 2013.
The two men’s tensions have been so much at the heart of the country’s insecurity that Pope Francis once took the extraordinary step of kneeling to kiss their feet in one of his pleas for lasting peace.
Five years of civil war killed hundreds of thousands of people. A peace deal reached in 2018 has been fragile and not fully implemented, to the frustration of the U.S. and other international backers. Notably, South Sudan still hasn’t held a long-delayed presidential election, and Kiir remains in power.
His rivalry with Machar, compounded by ethnic divisions, has simmered through multiple attempts to return Machar as a vice president. Machar has long regarded himself as destined for the presidency, citing a prophecy years ago by a seer from his ethnic group.
Late last month, the threat of war returned. Machar was arrested and his allies in the government and the military were detained following a major escalation: A militia from Machar’s ethnic group had seized an army garrison upcountry. The government responded with airstrikes. Dozens of people were killed. A United Nations helicopter was attacked.
View original: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-revoked-visas-south-sudanese-163537095.html
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Related
South Sudan on brink of civil war, UN's Haysom warns
UN News by Vibhu Mishra 24 March 2025:
“The time for action is now because the alternative is too terrible to contemplate” -Nicholas Haysom, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2025/03/south-sudan-on-brink-of-civil-war-uns.html
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Is South Sudan heading to another civil war?
AlJazeera English video report (28 mins) 28 March 2025:
Tension is rising in South Sudan after the vice president is put under house arrest.
South Sudan is on the brink of another civil war, the United Nations has warned, after weeks of escalating violence and rising tensions between Vice President Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir.
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/inside-story/2025/3/28/is-south-sudan-heading-to-another-civil-war
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Is Sudan’s war merging with South Sudanese conflicts?
AlJazeera English article by Mat Nashed 29 March 2025:
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