Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Saturday that the United States will be revoking all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and blocking new arrivals. This decision was made due to South Sudan allegedly not accepting its nationals who have been expelled from the US.
According to Anadolu Agency, the State Department is taking measures to revoke visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and halt further issuance to prevent their entry. Rubio stated that the transitional government in Juba is “taking advantage of the United States” and emphasized that every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when requested by another nation. He added that the US will reconsider these actions once South Sudan fully cooperates.
South Sudan, which became the world’s youngest nation after gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, has faced ongoing conflict since December 2013. The situation escalated when President Salva Kiir Mayardit accused his deputy, Riek Machar, of plotting a coup. Despite peace agreements made in 2018 and 2022, the country continues to experience instability and sporadic violence.
In February, a militia group known as the White Army, primarily composed of members from Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, took control of a town in the Upper Nile State. This led to the detention of several generals and government ministers associated with Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition. On April 7, President Kiir called for calm and assured that the government would address the crisis, stating that the country would not return to war. Despite this, reports surfaced last week indicating that Machar had been placed under house arrest.
In light of the ongoing tensions, several countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, China, Norway, Poland, Spain, Malaysia, and Austria, have issued travel advisories for South Sudan.