By Jenifer James
The National Minister of Information, Michael Makuei, praised security forces for restoring order after unrest on 16th and 17th January. Following a Cabinet meeting, he highlighted their swift action in protecting lives and property and credited President Salva Kiir’s call for calm in preventing further chaos.
Casualties were minimal, and affected individuals were offered options to return home, resume businesses, or seek repatriation under international law.
‘’Yesterday it was reported that there was a plane sent from Khartoum to come and repatriate Sudanese, and the plane went back without a single Sudanese. Nobody accepted to go to Khartoum, so the plane went back yesterday. This situation will continue to be monitored, but however, so far up to now, the situation is normal and calm. We appreciate the people of South Sudan for their stand,’’ Makuei said.
Although there are Sudanese complaining about going back to Sudan, according to the minister, there was a plan sent to repatriate Sudanese yesterday (Thursday), but unfortunately, the plan went back with no single Sudanese.
‘’Those for your information, those Sudanese who came here, they have run away from their government, and if at all there are any to say that they are going back to Sudan, we will not even hand them over to Sudan, but we will hand them over to the UN. It is the UN that will take them. If at all there is anybody who is ready to go back to the very government from which he ran away, he or she ran away. So that is the situation,’’ Makuei said.
A few weeks ago, there was a protest in some parts of South Sudan in regard to the killing of South Sudanese in Sudan, which was seen over social media and caused insecurity in South Sudan.