President Salva Kiir has fired a top politician belonging to the SPLM Former Detainees group just a day after his forces battled another peace signatory in the capital city Juba.
Deputy Foreign Minister Cirino Hiteng was sacked in a decree read out on state media. His replacement has not been named and no reasons were given for firing him.
However, his firing comes a day after he attended a meeting of the IGAD Council of Ministers in Nairobi where the East African bloc passed a resolution demanding ceasefire and demanding that UNMISS troops be allowed to guard the Juba airport.
Cirino had been nominated by the SPLM Former Detainees group, one of the non-armed signatories to the August 2015 peace agreement. They were given two ministerial portfolios under the terms of the deal, including the foreign ministry.
He was appointed in April 2016 when the cabinet of the Transitional Government of National Unity was formed.
Cirino’s removal could open up a rift again between the SPLM Former Detainees and SPLM-Juba, the faction headed by Salva Kiir. Foreign Minister Deng Alor and Transport Minister John Luk are the two ministers belonging to the Former Detainees in the transitional government.