Uncertain Future for Deported South Sudanese Men

Seven of eight men deported from the United States to South Sudan remain in custody. The South Sudanese government is assessing their future, while one has been released. The deportations are the result of negotiations rather than formal agreements and affect several African nations, including Uganda, Eswatini, and Rwanda.

Seven of the eight men deported by the United States to South Sudan earlier this year are still in custody, with the South Sudanese government deliberating their fate, according to the foreign ministry.

A decision on whether the men will remain in South Sudan or be sent elsewhere is yet to be made, as confirmed by foreign ministry spokesman Apuk Ayuel Mayen in Juba. The eighth deportee, a South Sudan national, has already been released and reunited with his family.

The deportation of foreign nationals, Mayen explained, resulted from bilateral discussions as opposed to a formal agreement, with no further details on the detainees provided. Besides South Sudan, other African countries affected by deportations from the US include Uganda, Eswatini, and Rwanda.

(With inputs from agencies.)