Off the wire
• Serbia stages Mikser art festival  • Nadal's reign on Roland Garros ends in Djokovic's hands  • Roundup: U.S. stocks rally on upbeat data, Fed Beige Book  • Canadian police bust Italian mafia drug group, arrest 19  • Rockets fired by Gaza militants hit southern Israel  • Foreign exchange rate of Euro to other currencies  • Finnish gov't to expropriate scenic peninsula to block sale to Russians  • Chicago wheat, soybeans close lower slightly, corn unchanged  • Breast cancer screening cuts death risk by 40 percent in older women: IARC  • Russia deeply concerned over situation in eastern Ukraine  
You are here: 　 Home

Security Council expresses concern over South Sudan's expulsion of UN deputy envoy

Xinhua, June 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed concern over South Sudan's expulsion of UN deputy envoy to the country.

On Monday, the UN Spokesperson's Office said South Sudan has decided to expel Toby Lanzer, UN deputy representative and humanitarian coordinator for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) .

In a press statement released here, the members of the Security Council said to make such a decision immediately following the warning of food insecurity in South Sudan by the World Food Program (WFP) "shows disregard for the plight of the South Sudanese people."

WFP said South Sudan is facing the worst levels of food insecurity in the young country's history because of a combination of conflict, high food prices and a worsening economic crisis.

The council also expressed their grave concern over the security situation in South Sudan, and condemned the repeated violations of cessation of hostilities agreement.

In this regard, the council threatened to impose sanctions against those who threaten the peace, security or stability of South Sudan.

"The member of the Security Council demanded that all parties end intimidation and harassment against UNMISS and humanitarian personnel, cease ongoing restrictions on freedom of movement, and allow UNMISS to fully implement its mandate," said the statement.

The South Sudanese government on Tuesday refused to walk back its decision to expel Lanzer despite the appeal by UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon to the government to reverse its decision.

South Sudan secured its independence in 2011. However, it cascaded into violent clashes in December 2013 as fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar.

The conflict soon became an all-out war, with violence taking on an ethnic aspect, pitting the president's Dinka tribe against Machar Nuer's ethnic faction.

According to UN statistics, since the beginning of the year, 60, 000 South Sudanese have fled the country, mostly to Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. The total number of South Sudanese who fled the country since December 2013 has now reached 555,000, while some 1.5 million remain internally displaced inside their own country. Endite