Germany closes its embassy in South Sudan as it teeters on the brink of civil war

BERLIN (AP) — The German authorities said Saturday that it is temporarily closing its embassy successful South Sudan.

“After years of fragile peace, South Sudan is erstwhile again connected the brink of civilian war,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said connected societal media level Bluesky.

The situation squad of the German Foreign Office "has truthful decided to adjacent the embassy successful the superior Juba for the clip being. The information of the employees has apical priority," she added.

Baerbock besides wrote that South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, “are plunging the state into a spiral of violence. They person a work to halt the senseless unit and yet instrumentality the bid agreement.”

South Sudan has been plagued by governmental instability and unit since it gained independency from Sudan successful 2011.

In 2018, a bid woody signed betwixt Machar and Kiir ended a five-year civilian warfare successful which much than 400,000 radical were killed. Machar serves arsenic the country’s archetypal vice president successful a authorities of nationalist unity, adjacent though his governmental radical opposes Kiir.

The governmental rivalry betwixt the 2 men is wide seen arsenic a large obstacle to bid successful South Sudan, with Kiir suspicious of his deputy’s ambitions and Machar calling Kiir a dictator.