UPDATE 1-U.S. recalls ambassador from South Sudan after unity government failure


Reuters | Washington DC | Updated: 25-11-2019 21:35 IST | Created: 25-11-2019 21:27 IST
UPDATE 1-U.S. recalls ambassador from South Sudan after unity government failure
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The United States has recalled its ambassador from South Sudan after the leaders of formerly warring factions failed to agree on a unity government, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

Ambassador Thomas Hushek will return for consultations "as part of the re-evaluation of the U.S. relationship with the Government of South Sudan given the latest developments," the department said in a statement. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that Washington would "work with the region to support efforts to achieve peace and a successful political transition in South Sudan."

After a devastating five-year civil war, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar signed a peace deal in September 2018, under pressure from the United Nations, United States, and regional governments. On Nov. 7, they agreed to give themselves another 100 days beyond a Nov. 12 deadline to form the unity government, and Washington said it was "gravely disappointed".

The conflict began after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president. It killed an estimated 400,000 people, triggered a famine and created Africa's biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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