South Sudan rules out deportation deal with US on third-country nationals

JUBA - South Sudan on Thursday said it has no deal in place to receive third-country nationals deported from the United States.

Apuk Ayuel Mayen, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said the country was able to receive seven third-country nationals and a South Sudanese national on July 5, based on bilateral engagement with the Trump administration.

"There are no discussions on deportations, and there is no deal that has been signed in regards to that. There was bilateral engagement around deporting the seven deportees between our government and the government of the United States," Mayen told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

The third-country nationals deported to South Sudan include two people from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos, and Mexico.

In addition, Mayen said that 23 South Sudanese who were earlier deported from the United States have been reunited with their family members.