The United States has lifted its visa ban on all South Sudanese citizens after the country agreed to allow a man who was deported from the US to enter, in a bid to defuse tensions between the two nations.
In a reversal of his initial decision, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would be revoking visas for all South Sudanese, claiming it was due to South Sudan’s refusal to accept its citizens being removed from the US.
However, in an about-face, South Sudan’s government stated it would allow the deported man, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, to enter the country. The man is expected to arrive in Juba as early as Wednesday.
South Sudan’s foreign ministry said this decision was made in “the spirit of friendly relations” with the US and that authorities at Juba International Airport have been instructed to facilitate his arrival.
The US had taken a hardline stance, claiming that South Sudan’s transitional government had failed to accept its citizens being removed from the US in a timely manner.
However, South Sudan’s foreign ministry disputed this claim, saying the man who was misidentified and sent back to the US is not a South Sudanese national.
The move comes as tensions between the two countries have risen amid fears of civil war, with the First Vice-President Riek Machar being placed under house arrest. The country’s President Salva Kiir has accused Machar of stirring up a new revolt.
Last month, the US ordered all its non-emergency staff in South Sudan to leave as fighting broke out in one part of the country, threatening a fragile peace deal agreed in 2018 that ended a five-year civil war.
South Sudanese in the US were previously granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allowed them to remain in the US for a set period of time.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9281ljxj0o