US to revoke all visas of South Sudan nationals

The United States says it's revoking all visas held by South Sudan nationals, citing the African country's refusal to accept the repatriation of its citizens.

"Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Saturday.

"As South Sudan's transitional government has failed to fully respect this principle, effective immediately, the United States Department of State is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders."

Rubio accused the transitional government in Juba of "taking advantage" of the US. He added that Washington would be willing "to review these actions when South Sudan is in full co-operation".

President Donald Trump's administration has taken aggressive measures to ramp up immigration enforcement, including the repatriation of people deemed to be in the US illegally.

The administration has warned that countries that do not swiftly take back their citizens will face consequences, including visa sanctions or tariffs.

South Sudan's embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

South Sudan, with a population of around 11 million, experienced a brutal civil war after it gained independence from its northern neighbour Sudan in 2011.

President Salva Kiir and his opponent Vice President Riek Machar formed a joint transitional government in 2020, which is now on the verge of collapse. The domestic political crisis has been escalating for several weeks.

African Union mediators arrived in South Sudan's capital Juba this week for talks aimed at averting a new civil war in the country after its First Vice President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest last week.

The government has accused Machar, a longtime rival who led rebel forces during a 2013-18 war that killed hundreds of thousands, of trying to stir up a new rebellion.

Machar's detention followed weeks of fighting in the northern Upper Nile state between the military and the White Army militia. Machar's forces were allied with the White Army during the civil war but deny any current links.

The 2013-18 war was contested largely along ethnic lines, with fighters from the Dinka, the country's largest group, lining up behind Kiir, and those from the Nuer, the second-largest group, supporting Machar.

with reuters