US sanctions South Sudanese VP for role in abuse

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned the first Vice President of South Sudan Taban Deng Gai for his alleged involvement in human rights abuses.

"Deng has acted to divide and sow distrust within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – In Opposition (SPLM-IO) and broader Nuer community, which has extended the conflict in South Sudan and deteriorated the reconciliation and peace process," the agency said in a statement.

Deng was reportedly involved in the disappearance and deaths of human rights lawyer Samuel Dong Luak and opposition SPLM-IO member Aggrey Idry in 2017.

In December, five South Sudanese were designated for alleged involvement in the disappearance and reported deaths of Dong and Aggrey.

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Justin Muzinich accused Deng of silencing the opposition party's ability to bring in a peace agreement.

"The United States calls on all nations to exclude from the international financial system those who jeopardize South Sudan’s future," said Muzinich in the statement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged South Sudan government and opposition leaders to distance themselves from peace process spoilers.

President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar signed a peace agreement in 2018 that requires all parties, including rebel groups, to become part of a unity government which was expected to be formed Nov. 12. But they failed to agree on several issues, including security arrangements and the number of states and their boundaries.

Since the beginning of 2019, the leadership of the parties who are signatories to the

agreement held several meetings, but some of them ended without progress.

South Sudan slid into crisis when Kiir sacked Machar as vice president in December 2013 on suspicion of plotting a coup, followed by a protracted civil war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and forced 4 million people to flee their homes.