South Sudan says not worried over rebel leader's movements

The South Sudanese government said Thursday that it was not worried over rebel leader Riek Machar's movement in the region, after it was reported that the former First Vice President had been denied entry to Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mawien Makol Arik told Xinhua that the government had not received official information on the alleged denial of Machar's entrance into these countries.

"We also heard what happened to him last week when he tried to enter these countries. But this information is not official," Arik told Xinhua in the capital Juba.

"The government's position is that we are not worried about the former first vice-president. This is not our position but to implement peace with the faction led by Taban Deng Gai," he added.

Gai replaced Machar as first vice president in the transitional unity government formed mid-April in the aftermath of the July fighting in Juba. Machar's SPLA-in Opposition was forced out of Juba by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir.

"We are not controlling him (Machar) but it's up to the countries where he enters to decide," he said.

The remarks came after SPLA-IO spokesman on Thursday reiterated that Machar only returned to South Africa on official reasons and would return to South Sudan.

The regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member countries like Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda that helped broker the fragile peace deal to end years of conflict in South Sudan have lately vowed to deny SPLA-IO officials sanctuary in their capitals.

"What is important is that these countries (IGAD) work with the government in Juba," Arik said. Endit