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S. Sudan to scale down staff in its foreign embassies

Xinhua, March 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Sudan on Tuesday dismissed reports of closing down 32 of its foreign embassies, saying that it will instead downsize the number of staff due to economic slump stemming from a two-year civil war.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the world's youngest nation was reducing the number of staff in its embassies abroad in order to cut down on the costs.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is planning to reduce or downsize the staff in its embassies abroad. This does not mean that the embassies are being closed down," the statement said.

The statement came after unconfirmed reports that some of South Sudan's foreign missions have been served with eviction orders for not paying rent, while some staff have not been paid for more than six months due to economic crisis.

The government last year devalued the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) by 84 percent.

The major cause of the current economic crisis is the conflict that broke out in December 2013 between factions of the ruling party, which led to a two-year civil war.

"The foreign affairs ministry can at any time increase or decrease the number of staff in its embassies abroad. This is done everywhere in the world," it added.

South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011. Endit