Nikki Haley evacuated from refugee camp in South Sudan

US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, had to be evacuated from a UN camp that caters to displaced people in South Sudan after violent protests broke out against Salva Kiir, the country's president. According to a witness who spoke on the condition of anonymity, after Haley's safe evacuation, UN guards stationed at the camp were forced to fire teargas at the agitated crowd to disperse them, according to Fox News reports.

The restless crowd of over 100 went on a rampage, destroying and looting property at one of the offices belonging to one of the aid organizations that operates from the camp. Confirming the incident, the UN said residents of the camp became upset after Haley was unable to meet them, owing to a tight schedule and time constraints. The residents at the camp were planning to hand deliver a petition to Haley, concerning their plight and position on the civil war that made them flee their homes and seek refuge at the camp. A statement from the UN said the petition was delivered to Haley before her departure from the country.

US concerns over South Sudan

Haley is on a three-country African tour to see the results of US-UN involvement on the ground, which will take her to South Sudan, Congo, and Ethiopia. Earlier on Wednesday, Haley met with President Salva Kiir of the war-torn country. Later, she spoke to Radio Miraya, a UN station and said the meeting with the country's president centered around the need to end the conflict and ways to alleviate the citizens' suffering.

Without giving further details, Haley also pointed out that she told President Kiir that the US no longer trusted his government to bring the conflict that has ravaged the East African country for the past four years to an end, and was no longer going to wait for the much-needed change.

The US is South Sudan's largest donor and since the country's independence in 2011, an estimated $5 billion has been channeled to the country for development initiatives and humanitarian causes.

Peace efforts

The South Sudan government is currently engaged in peace talks with the opposition, the two sides responsible for the conflict, which has displaced over two million people. The displacement numbers are second only to Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Through a statement, President Kiir assured his government's commitment to the peace talks and granting the UN access to the country's population facing starvation and disease.