South Sudan President sacks foreign minister Beatrice Khamisa

South Sudan President Salva Kiir

South Sudan President Salva Kiir addresses the nation from State House in Juba on September 15, 2015.


Photo credit: Charles Atiki Lomodong | AFP

Juba,

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has fired his foreign minister Beatrice Khamisa Wani, replacing her with Mayiik Ayii Deng who once served as minister for presidential affairs.

Khamisa, who was appointed last year when the transitional unity government was formed, was relieved of her duties through a presidential decree Thursday evening aired on state broadcaster South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC).

No reasons were given for the sacking of the foreign minister.

South Sudanese parties including the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-In-opposition (SPLM/A-IO) led by now First Vice President Riek Machar are implementing the 2018 revitalized peace deal signed in Ethiopia to end more than six years of conflict.

The conflict that broke out in December 2013 following a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his then-deputy Riek Machar left tens of thousands of people killed and more than 2 million people displaced both internally and externally.