The government says it is not restricting movement of UNMISS staff and aid workers.

The statement comes after the UN Security Council said UNMISS staff and aid workers are intimidated and harassed in South Sudan.

The Council asked the government and the opposition to end restrictions on their movement and allow UNMISS to fully implement its mandate.

In a press release, the council also called on the government to respect the Status of Forces Agreement, which guides the relationship between UNMISS peacekeepers and the government.

It says the government should cooperate and communicate with UNMISS at the highest level.

For its part, the government says it is not harassing or intimidating UNMISS staff and aid workers.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mawien Makol, says the government is cooperating with UNMISS under the SOFA agreement.

“It is unfortunate that the United Nations Security Council talked about the harassment off the UN personel. The United Nations personnel in South Sudan here are here with the consent of the government of the South Sudan and we are a part and party to the UN system,” Amb Makol said.

“There is no way the government can harass the personnel of the UN. All we are saying here is that a report made by UN personnel has to be accurate and has to go in line with what happened on the ground. But there is no any harassment.”

Mr Mawen says the recent expulsion of the UN humanitarian coordinator, Toby Lanzer, should not be seen as an intimidation.

He insists the government was correcting what it sees as a trend of making wrong statements. The SPLM in Opposition has not commented on the state of the Security Council.