South Sudanese government should immediately reverse the expulsion of Associated Press reporter Justin Lynch and should cease interfering with journalists' ability to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

 Security officers on Tuesday arrested the journalist and deported him to neighbouring Uganda, the new agency reported.

"The expulsion of Justin Lynch is yet another illustration of how much President Salva Kiir's government fears independent media coverage," said Murithi Mutiga, CPJ's East Africa representative.

"South Sudan needs independent journalism now more than ever. The government should reverse this decision and allow journalists to do their job without harassment," he added.

Lynch wrote on Twitter that the officers offered no official explanation for their action.

"Yesterday I was arrested and deported by members of South Sudan's National Security Service. The officers did not officially present me with a reason for my arrest and deportation, but repeatedly said that my reporting was too critical of the government. This is a violation of press freedom," the journalist wrote on Twitter.

South Sudan's Director-General of Information Paul Jacob Kumbo did not immediately return CPJ's calls requesting comment on the decision.

Lynch recently reported on evidence of ethnic violence in the country and on the warning by a UN official that South Sudan is at risk of genocide.