{"id":44696,"date":"2026-05-15T16:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=44696"},"modified":"2026-05-15T16:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:11:40","slug":"govt-rejects-u-s-claims-condemns-visa-restrictions-on-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/govt-rejects-u-s-claims-condemns-visa-restrictions-on-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov\u2019t rejects U.S. claims, condemns visa restrictions on officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lodu William Odiya<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The government of South Sudan has strongly rejected recent accusations and visa restrictions imposed by the United States government, describing Washington\u2019s position on the country\u2019s peace implementation process as a \u201cmischaracterisation\u201d of facts on the ground.<\/p>\n

In a press statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed \u201cgrave concern\u201d over remarks made by Thomas Piggot, spokesperson of the United States Department of State, regarding the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).<\/p>\n

The Ministry criticised the U.S. decision to restrict visas for officials of the Transitional Government of National Unity and some business entities operating in South Sudan, saying the move would negatively affect ordinary citizens, including students on scholarships and athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sovereign decision taken by the Department of State restricting visas for government officials impacts ordinary South Sudanese citizens,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

Juba accused the United States of presenting an inaccurate picture of the progress made in implementing the peace agreement and urged Washington, peace partners, and the international community to engage constructively with all parties involved in the peace process.<\/p>\n

The government reiterated its commitment to the implementation of the peace deal, including preparations for general elections and the transition toward democratic governance.<\/p>\n

South Sudan also dismissed allegations by the U.S. concerning the misuse of humanitarian aid funds, calling them \u201crecycled and unsubstantiated claims.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the security situation in Northern Jonglei State, the government defended operations carried out by the South Sudan People\u2019s Defense Forces (SSPDF), saying the military acted in self-defense following attacks allegedly launched by SPLA-IO forces and the White Army between December 2025 and March 2026.<\/p>\n

The statement further rejected accusations of targeted killings and mass displacement of Nuer civilians, insisting there was \u201cno credible evidence\u201d to support such claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SSPDF acted with utmost restraint and professionalism, with the protection of civilians and their property as a priority,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. James Pitia Morgan reportedly held a meeting with the United States ambassador to South Sudan, Michael J. Adler, following the release of the U.S. statement, as diplomatic tensions between the two countries continue to rise over the pace of South Sudan\u2019s peace implementation and human rights concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lodu William Odiya The government of South Sudan has strongly rejected recent accusations and visa restrictions imposed by the United States government, describing Washington\u2019s position on the country\u2019s peace implementation process as a \u201cmischaracterisation\u201d of facts on the ground. In a press statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ambassador-Jame-Morgan-Pitia-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-and-International-cooperation-courtesy-photo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44698,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44696\/revisions\/44698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}