Latest news with #EdmundYakani
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
South Sudan says eight deportees from the US are under government care
War-torn South Sudan has said it is holding a group of eight men controversially deported from the United States. Only one of them is from South Sudan. The rest comprise two people from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos and Mexico. The Trump administration is trying to move unwanted migrants to third countries as some nations refuse to accept returnees. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the US. The decision has been fought in US courts. 'They are currently in Juba under the care of the relevant authorities, who are screening them and ensuring their safety and wellbeing,' the South Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday. It did not give details, but said the 'careful and well-studied decision' was part of 'ongoing bilateral engagement'. 'South Sudan responded positively to a request from the US authorities as a gesture of goodwill, humanitarian cooperation and commitment to mutual interests,' it added. The deportations have raised safety and other concerns among some in South Sudan. 'South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals,' said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader. United Nations experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the UN, have criticised the move. 'International law is clear that no one shall be sent anywhere where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to … torture, enforced disappearance or arbitrary deprivation of life,' 11 independent UN rights experts said in a statement. The deportees left the United States for South Sudan in May but their flight ended up in Djibouti when a US district court imposed a stay on third-country deportations. That ruling was overturned by the supreme court earlier this month. The group arrived in South Sudan on 5 June with an official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying they had been returned by US marines. A South Sudan foreign ministry spokesperson, Apuk Ayuel Mayen, said Juba maintains a strong commitment to its people, including 'its nationals returning under any circumstances' and 'persons with recognised links to South Sudan'. Simmering rivalry between South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, and his vice-president, Riek Machar, boiled over into open hostilities in March. The tensions have raised fears of a return to full-scale war in the world's youngest country, where a civil war killed 400,000 people in 2013-2018. AFP and the AP contributed reporting
09-07-2025
- Politics
South Sudan says 8 men deported from the US are now in its custody
JUBA, South Sudan -- South Sudanese authorities confirmed on Tuesday that eight men deported from the United States were now in the custody of the government of the African country. Apuk Ayuel, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, told reporters that the eight arrived at Juba International Airport on Saturday following 'standard deportation procedures undertaken" by the U.S. government. The men are 'under the care of the relevant authorities who are screening them and ensuring their safety and well-being,' she said, without specifying where they are held. U.S. authorities said on Friday that the eight men deported in May and held for weeks at an American military base in Djibouti arrived in South Sudan after the Supreme Court cleared the way for their transfer. The men — from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan are part of a case that had gone to the Supreme Court, which had permitted their removal from the U.S. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. The deportations have raised safety and other concerns among some in this country. 'South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals,' said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader in the country. South Sudan's government has struggled since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver many of the basic services. Years of conflict have left the country heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by sweeping cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. Economic hardship has deepened in recent months because of declining oil revenues, with crude exports to Port Sudan affected by civil war in the neighboring country.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
South Sudan says eight deportees from the US are under government care
War-torn South Sudan has said it is holding a group of eight men controversially deported from the United States. Only one of them is from South Sudan. The rest comprise two people from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos and Mexico. The Trump administration is trying to move unwanted migrants to third countries as some nations refuse to accept returnees. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the US. The decision has been fought in US courts. 'They are currently in Juba under the care of the relevant authorities, who are screening them and ensuring their safety and wellbeing,' the South Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday. It did not give details, but said the 'careful and well-studied decision' was part of 'ongoing bilateral engagement'. 'South Sudan responded positively to a request from the US authorities as a gesture of goodwill, humanitarian cooperation and commitment to mutual interests,' it added. The deportations have raised safety and other concerns among some in South Sudan. 'South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals,' said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader. United Nations experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the UN, have criticised the move. 'International law is clear that no one shall be sent anywhere where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to … torture, enforced disappearance or arbitrary deprivation of life,' 11 independent UN rights experts said in a statement. The deportees left the United States for South Sudan in May but their flight ended up in Djibouti when a US district court imposed a stay on third-country deportations. That ruling was overturned by the supreme court earlier this month. The group arrived in South Sudan on 5 June with an official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying they had been returned by US marines. A South Sudan foreign ministry spokesperson, Apuk Ayuel Mayen, said Juba maintains a strong commitment to its people, including 'its nationals returning under any circumstances' and 'persons with recognised links to South Sudan'. Simmering rivalry between South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, and his vice-president, Riek Machar, boiled over into open hostilities in March. The tensions have raised fears of a return to full-scale war in the world's youngest country, where a civil war killed 400,000 people in 2013-2018. AFP and the AP contributed reporting
San Francisco Chronicle
08-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
South Sudan says 8 men deported from the US are now in its custody
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudanese authorities confirmed on Tuesday that eight men deported from the United States were now in the custody of the government of the African country. Apuk Ayuel, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, told reporters that the eight arrived at Juba International Airport on Saturday following 'standard deportation procedures undertaken" by the U.S. government. The men are 'under the care of the relevant authorities who are screening them and ensuring their safety and well-being,' she said, without specifying where they are held. U.S. authorities said on Friday that the eight men deported in May and held for weeks at an American military base in Djibouti arrived in South Sudan after the Supreme Court cleared the way for their transfer. The men — from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan are part of a case that had gone to the Supreme Court, which had permitted their removal from the U.S. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. The deportations have raised safety and other concerns among some in this country. 'South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals,' said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader in the country. South Sudan's government has struggled since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver many of the basic services. Years of conflict have left the country heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by sweeping cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. Economic hardship has deepened in recent months because of declining oil revenues, with crude exports to Port Sudan affected by civil war in the neighboring country.
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
South Sudan says 8 men deported from the US are now in its custody
JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudanese authorities confirmed on Tuesday that eight men deported from the United States were now in the custody of the government of the African country. Apuk Ayuel, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, told reporters that the eight arrived at Juba International Airport on Saturday following 'standard deportation procedures undertaken' by the U.S. government. The men are 'under the care of the relevant authorities who are screening them and ensuring their safety and well-being,' she said, without specifying where they are held. U.S. authorities said on Friday that the eight men deported in May and held for weeks at an American military base in Djibouti arrived in South Sudan after the Supreme Court cleared the way for their transfer. The men — from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan are part of a case that had gone to the Supreme Court, which had permitted their removal from the U.S. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. The deportations have raised safety and other concerns among some in this country. 'South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals,' said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader in the country. South Sudan's government has struggled since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver many of the basic services. Years of conflict have left the country heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by sweeping cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. Economic hardship has deepened in recent months because of declining oil revenues, with crude exports to Port Sudan affected by civil war in the neighboring country.
