A newspaper director says security personnel have confiscated one thousand five hundred copies of their publication at Juba International Airport.

The Administrative Director of ELMajir Elsiassi Newspaper, Kim Gai, told Eye Radio that the paper had not been impartial.

He said the newspaper is printed in Khartoum.

“I went to receive the newspaper at the airport to take it to distribution points,” he explained.

“After my arrival to receive the newspaper from the plane, all papers printed from Khartoum came – we do not print the paper here in Juba because of printing problems here.

“Then a security officer came and suspended the paper before seeing what is in it. They came asking: where is Elmajir Elsiassi newspaper? They seized 1,500 copies.

“When I asked them why, the officer told me that ‘there is no problem but it seems you have taken sides, the paper will not enter the market’.

“And he said the paper will not be circulated from today, tomorrow and next tomorrow.”

The Director General in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Paul Jacob Kumbo, told Eye Radio that the ministry is not aware of the confiscation of ELMajir Elsiassi newspaper:

“I cannot confirm that because I don’t have any information. What happened is that, well, if the security have taken any paper, I don’t know why they banned the paper, what that article was.”

Mr. Kumbo said the management of ELMajir Elsiassi Newspaper did not report the incident to the ministry of information.

He called on media houses to contact the ministry of Information and Broadcasting when they face problem with the security organs.