Once again, this optimism has been shattered, as violence broke out a week ago between the parties of President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar and their respective military forces, leaving more than 300 dead in Juba, the capital city.
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Largely Christian South Sudan won its independence from Sudan, a majority Muslim country, in 2011 after years of fighting.
“The evacuation has been meticulously planned in coordination with the local authorities as well as the support of the Indian peacekeeping contingent in Unmiss (UN Mission in South Sudan)”, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a media briefing here.
In another apparent parallel with 2013, Uganda said it was sending troops to South Sudan but this time they would only help evacuate Ugandans, Uganda government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said.
The ceasefire announcement came as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on the Security Council to impose an “immediate arms embargo” and targeted sanctions on leaders and commanders blocking implementation of the peace deal.
A truce is now in place after an outbreak of violence between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir (keer) and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar.
Both Kiir and Machar, now first vice president, called late Monday for a cease-fire, which has appeared to hold.
Japan’s Defense Ministry will assess the situation on the ground in South Sudan before deciding whether to send in the C-130s to bring out the remaining Japanese.
President Kiir, however, said South Sudan would not accept more peacekeeping forces.
He said Singh, soon after landing on Thursday, met with South Sudan foreign minister Deng Alor Kuol and the country’s vice-president James Wani Igga.
Despite signing a peace agreement in August, Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar have squandered opportunities to put aside mutual distrust and de-escalate their two-year civil war.
Thousands of South Sudanese people have reportedly also gathered at the country’s southern border of Nimule, seeking to enter into Uganda, but they are also being prevented from crossing over.
An army spokesman said that any soldier found stealing civilian property or looting would be arrested, and shot at if they resisted.
Machar, who is now the country’s first vice president under a fragile peace deal, also said he was still in South Sudan but would not elaborate.
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Ethnically white citizens and others were allowed to board but people who are ethnically South Sudanese with joint US-South Sudanese citizenship were blocked.
