South Sudan Stops Nationals From Fleeing Clashes, Group Says
- Thousands of people prevented from crossing border to Uganda
- United Nations protecting about 33,000 displaced people
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South Sudanese security forces are preventing people from leaving the East African nation after fighting that began July 7 between rival armed groups loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, Amnesty International said.
“The organization has received reports from two charter companies that national security service officers have ordered them not to carry South Sudanese nationals, particularly men,” Amnesty’s South Sudan researcher, Elizabeth Deng, said Thursday in an e-mailed statement. “It is absolutely critical that both parties to the conflict do not obstruct safe passage of civilians fleeing to places of refuge both inside and outside of the country.”