South Sudan confirms reception of eight deportees by the US
The immigrants, originally from six different countries, finally arrived on Sudanese soil after months stranded at a military base while the courts decided the legality of sending them to a third country.
File image of a deportation flight.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan confirmed that a group of eight migrants deported by the United States are in the custody of the African country.
The deportees are two people from Cuba, one from Mexico, two from Burma, one from Laos and one from Vietnam. Only one is from South Sudan. They have been convicted of crimes such as murder, robbery, kidnapping and illegal possession of weapons.
"They are currently in Juba under the care of the relevant authorities, who are screening them and ensuring their safety and well-being," the ministry said Tuesday night in a statement.
It gave no further details, but assured that the "careful and well-studied decision" to receive them was made in the context of relations between the two countries.
"South Sudan responded positively to a request from the U.S. authorities as a gesture of goodwill, humanitarian cooperation, and commitment to mutual interests," it added.
The group, deported in May, had to remain at a U.S. base in Djibouti for some months after a U.S. district court ordered a halt to deportations to third countries.
That decision was reversed by the Supreme Court just days ago, allowing the deportees to arrive in South Sudan, an impoverished country that has recently seen an upsurge in violence.
South Sudan's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Apuk Ayuel Mayen, assured that Juba remains firmly committed to its people, including "its nationals returning under any circumstances."
The youngest country
It is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has been wracked by high tensions since the end of a civil war that caused 400,000 deaths between 2013 and 2018.
In its country factbook, the CIA notes that, since independence, the "world’s newest country" had struggled "to form a viable governing system and has been plagued by widespread corruption, political conflict, and communal violence."
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