Calm returns to S. Sudan capital after military standoff

Source: Xinhua| 2017-11-15 21:03:28|Editor: pengying
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JUBA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Relative calm has returned to the South Sudanese capital of Juba following a week-long military standoff between soldiers and bodyguards of former army chief Paul Malong.

The standoff started after bodyguards of the former army chief, who was sacked in May and placed under house arrest, refused to be disarmed.

But after troops and armored vehicles surrounding Malong's house withdrew over the weekend, normalcy returned to the city and business is going on as usual.

The standoff between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers and the ex-army chief's bodyguards had raised fears of fresh violence in the East African country.

Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Xinhua on Wednesday that the misunderstanding had been resolved and the ex-army chief is now free to travel to any country of his choice.

"The former army chief is free to travel and seek medical care in a country of his choice. What is delaying him is the issue of passport. His current passport still identifies him as the head of the army and that has to be changed," Ateny said.

Before his sacking by President Salva Kiir in May, Malong was widely regarded as Kiir's closest ally who mobilized an ethnic militia to fight for the Kiir administration.

Human rights groups have on several occasions accused Malong and his militia of committing atrocities on civilians across the war-torn country, accusations he denied.

The former army chief and two other South Sudanese government officials were sanctioned by the United States in September and by Canada early this month, for allegedly obstructing peace efforts and benefiting from the ongoing civil war.

The East African nation has been embroiled in almost four years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll on the people, and creating one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under United Nations pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government, but was shattered by renewed fighting in July 2016.

The UN estimates that about 4 million South Sudanese have been displaced internally and externally.

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