Us Visa Ban adds to the montage problems of South Sudan

The Trump administration’s decision this weekend of Revoke visas for all southern South Sudanese passport holders Added to the growing political and humanitarian challenges of a country on the verge of civil war, officials and observers said on Monday.

Tensions between the two political leaders of South Sudan have increased in recent weeks, especially after the authorities have put the vice-president Under the resistance of the houses At the end of March. Millions of people are also confronted with hunger, displacement and disease as Violence intensifies and the United States Cut the help.

Observers say the Balayage visa ban Shows how Washington withdrew from South Sudan – a nation that the United States has helped to exist almost 15 years ago – at a time of immense need.

“A massive storm is formed in South Sudan, and the visa ban only adds to anxiety that people have about everything that could be wrong,” said Daniel Akech, senior South Sudan analyst internationally Crisis Group, a non -profit organization.

On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he was revoking visas for southern South-Sudanese nationals and prevented more from entering the United States. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, said on social networks that South Sudan had refused to accept the repatriation of one of its nationals.

The Trump administration did not say if it would seek to expel South Sudanese nationals whose visas had been dismissed. The South Sudan government has not responded to the announcement of the visa ban, and a government spokesperson has not responded to requests for comments.

South Sudan sends relatively few travelers to the United States. Only 46 non -immigrant visas were issued to his nationals in January, against more than 2,500 people to people from neighboring Kenya, According to US government data.

Visas cancellations arise in a context of deepening political rifts between President Salva Kiir and his vice-president, Riek Machar. Schism threatens the fragile peace agreement 2018 ending a five -year civil war which killed nearly 400,000 people and moved millions.

In recent months, Sudanese military and opposition forces combined with Mr. Machar clashed before Juba, the capital and other parts of the country. In March, a United Nations helicopter evacuating wounded soldiers from the Haut du Nile in the Northeast was attackleading to the death of a general, several military officers and a crew member. The violence in the state has uprooted tens of thousands of people, some of whom fled to Ethiopia, according to the United Nations.

The Ugandan government has deployed troops in South Sudan at the request of President Kiir, a decision that exasperated Mr. Machar and his allies. Regional diplomatic efforts to repress discord have Failure so fararousing fears of a potential collapse of the government.

American aid cuts also harm efforts to rebuild after years of conflict. The United States spent $ 7055 million on food, health, education and other programs in the country last year. But a large part of this funding has disappeared since the Trump administration came to power, said the aid groups, forcing them to reduce programs by responding to floods, cholera epidemics and food shortages.

“South Sudan quickly becomes the forgotten crisis in the world,” said Denish Ogenrwot, the advocacy of the Aid Agency against Hunger, by phone from Juba.

Akech of the International Crisis Group said that the sudden revocations of visas could disrupt the lives of South Sudanese nationals in the United States.

Many of these people are students or people who work to support families at home or in refugee camps, said Akech. They also include rising stars like Khaman Maluach, a basketball player who represented South Sudan at the Olympic Games Last year and has just completed his first year season as A center for Duke University.

Mr. Akech said that the Visa revocations should have targeted responsible for the aggravation of the situation in South Sudan, not in the larger population. “The pain will be felt by those who should not be punished,” he said.

In the United States, officials of the South-Sudanese opposition announced on Monday that they were worried about people who could be expelled.

“We are seriously concerned about the fact that individuals who are repatriated can face serious damages or even death in the hands of the government, even responsible for these failures,” said Resath Muoch Tang, a senior official based in Washington in New York Times.

The future action of the United States, he said, should “focus on promoting the responsibility of leaders while protecting the lives and interests of ordinary citizens in South Sudanese”.