The United States ordered the immediate departure of non-emergency personnel from the capital of South Sudan, citing an increase in crime, kidnapping and armed conflict, the Department of State said Sunday.
The travel advisory level for South Sudan remains at Level 4, which means Americans should not travel to the African country.
“Violent crime, such as carjackings, shootings, ambushes, assaults, robberies, and kidnappings are common throughout South Sudan, including Juba,” the advisory said. “Foreign nationals have been the victims of rape, sexual assault, armed robberies, and other violent crimes.”
It also said that the U.S. government has “limited ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in South Sudan.”
Violence in South Sudan has escalated, threatening a fragile peace deal between the country’s top two leaders.
President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar signed a peace deal in 2018 to end a five-year civil war in which more than 400,000 people were killed. Machar serves as the country’s first vice president in a government of national unity, even though his political group opposes Kiir.
The political rivalry between the two men is widely seen as a major obstacle to peace in South Sudan, with Kiir suspicious of his deputy’s ambitions and Machar calling Kiir a dictator.
The State Department issues travel advisories for all countries. Level 4 is the highest issued by the Department of State and it is only issued when there is a greater risk of life-threatening danger. At this level, the U.S. government advises Americans to write a will and to leave DNA samples with their medical provider in case of identification purposes.
For South Sudan, the department urged Americans who decide to travel to the African nation to “exercise extreme care” in all parts of the country, including the capital Juba.
More than a dozen countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Syria, Iraq, Venezuela and Haiti have been designated under Level 4 by the State Department.
