[Dx-qsl] SOUTHERN SUDAN

[Murray Green (K3BEQ)]

US warns against travel to South Sudan

(AFP) – 41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Americans were warned Tuesday to use "extreme care" 
visiting the world's newest country, South Sudan, where the fledgling 
government provides only limited security outside the capital Juba.

The State Department said US citizens should "avoid all travel" to 
border regions, where deadly skirmishes have erupted in recent months 
between Sudanese troops from Khartoum and former rebel forces loyal to 
the south.

"You should exercise extreme care in all areas of South Sudan," read the 
travel warning, the first since the nation declared independence at the 
weekend, attempting to turn the page on decades of civil war that cost 
millions of lives.

"In addition to fighting on the ground, the Sudanese air force has 
bombed areas in Unity and Southern Kordofan states," in the border 
region, it said.

The State Department warned that there were seven different rebel 
militia forces that "frequently engage in violent clashes with SPLA 
(Sudan People's Liberation Army) forces in various areas of South Sudan.

"These clashes can flare up with little warning," it said.

The State Department also warned that the new government "has limited 
capacity to deter crime or provide security to travelers outside of the 
capital city of Juba," which itself has a high risk of violent crime.

Amid a rise in security incidents, the US embassy in Juba has imposed a 
curfew from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am, and is requiring American personnel to 
"travel in armored government vehicles at all times at night, and to 
obtain advance permission for any travel outside of Juba," the State 
Department said.

Washington also urged its citizens working on humanitarian relief or 
development projects in South Sudan to "take prudent measures to reduce 
your exposure to violent crime."