The United States government has warned its citizens against travel to South Sudan.

Currently, the US embassy in Juba has reduced the number of staff due to ‘continued armed conflict outside Juba’.

“The US embassy has little capacity to reach U.S. citizens with emergencies outside Juba because of the poor security situation and lack of critical infrastructure,” said a statement published on the Department of State website.

The statement says the embassy is ‘rarely informed of the arrest of U.S. citizens in a timely manner and its ability to provide consular assistance to detainees both in Juba and outside the capital is extremely limited’.

It also called upon US citizens traveling to South Sudan to ‘develop contingency plans before arrival to ensure their safety and security’.

Some US citizens who visit Juba have dual citizenship of South Sudan and the United States.