Off the wire
• UN Security Council slams DPRK's latest missile launch  • Portuguese airports hit by strike causing disruption  • Negotiations on Greek bailout program to resume after summer lull  • Philippine leftist rebels declare indefinite ceasefire  • Slovakia refuses responsibility for exported weapons ending up in Syria  • Brunei, Vietnam vow to fully, effectively implement DOC on South China Sea  • Interview: Aftershocks in quake-stricken central Italy evolving as expected: Italian expert  • At least 7 Al-Shabaab militants killed in S. Somalia: official  • Roundup: U.S. stocks slide amid Yellen speech, data  • WHO urges African nations to increase resources for health sector  
You are here: 　 Home

S. Sudan stages diplomatic protest to DR Congo over Machar's evacuation

Xinhua, August 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Sudan has staged a diplomatic protest to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Cong) for its alleged involvement in the evacuation of South Sudan's former Vice President Riek Machar earlier this month.

Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mawen Makol, alleged that Congolese authorities violated South Sudan's airspace by sending helicopters into South Sudan territory to evacuate Machar without informing the Juba government.

"The flights came into our border and they were seen in South Sudan territory without our permission. Some were Congolese and some belong to the UN," Makol told Xinhua by phone on Saturday.

Machar has not been seen in public since renewed clashes between forces loyal to him and government troops led by President Salva Kiir broke up in early July. He moved to Sudan's capital Khartoum on early this week to seek medical treatment.

The UN confirmed earlier this month that it evacuated Machar from a Congolese border town and then placed him under the care of the DR Congo authorities on humanitarian grounds.

Makol said South Sudan on Thursday summoned the DR Congo ambassador to South Sudan to explain the circumstances under which Machar crossed into DR Congo.

"He (the ambassador) said he is going to Kinshasa to consult with the government and the UN to prepare a report about the evacuation of Machar. We are still waiting for that report," Makol said.

Machar was replaced by his former chief peace negotiator Taban Deng Gai as first vice president last month. Enditem