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South Sudan's SPLM-IO denies expulsion of leader

Xinhua, November 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

A spokesperson for the Sudan People's Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO) on Thursday refuted reports that their leader Riek Machar was detained and faced deportation threat by Ethiopia and Sudan while attempting to cross into South Sudan earlier this week.

Dickson Gatluak said Machar was denied entry into Sudan due to delays in proceeding visa, maintaining that the incident does not signify denial of their leader by Addis Ababa or Khartoum.

"Machar was coming from South Africa on transit to Ethiopia and was supposed to get a visa on arrival in Khartoum but this didn't happen as planned," Gatluak told Xinhua.

"The visa was not ready on time as expected because of poor and lack of proper coordination between the protocol and public relation office of SPLM-IO and Khartoum," he added.

Machar who has been living in South Africa after fleeing Juba was reportedly denied entry into South Sudan by Ethiopian and Sudanese authorities over the weekend. He has since gone back to South Africa.

During his visit to South Sudan last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn vowed to halt hosting opposition forces in his territory.

Gatluak said Ethiopia and Sudan play a vital role in the South Sudan's process, but warned that attempts to clamp down on their leader would not change their desire to topple President Salva Kiir's government.

South Sudan has been rocked by civil war since December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, an allegation denied by Machar.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between Kiir and Machar under international pressure led to establishment of a transitional unity government in April, but was devastated by renewed fighting between rival army factions supporting both men in early July.

Machar who had been reinstated as deputy president in April was later sacked by President Kiir. He has since called for armed resistance to topple Kiir.

Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 2 million displaced in South Sudan since December, 2013, according to the United Nations. Endit