South Sudan’s president declares state of emergency in home state

NAIROBI: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has declared a three-month state of emergency in his home state, where clashes have raged for months between clan-based militias, the government spokesman said today.
Michael Makuei, who is also the information minister, said the army would be given powers to stop the fighting in Gogrial state, and that citizens’ rights would be suspended, though the presidency has not announced which rights will be curtailed.
Local media said dozens of people had been killed in the fighting in the state in the country’s north, though Reuters could not independently verify the number of those killed.
Makuei said the state of emergency also applied to the neighbouring areas of Tonj, Wau, and Aweil East.
Wau has experienced fighting this year between government forces and rebels under former vice president Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer, who is waging an insurgency in much of the country.
Reuters