South Sudan's government said rebel leader Riek Machar’s return to Juba to participate in the national dialogue launched by President Kiir is unacceptable.

“We see that the national dialogue would be inclusive. We said any South Sudanese citizen has the right to take part in the dialogue if he denounces violence except Riek Machar who has been causing problems since 1991 until now, said Michael Makuei, Minister of Information in an interview with Radio Tamazuj yesterday.

“If people are talking about the inclusivity of the national dialogue saying Riek Machar should return back to Juba personally is unacceptable,” he stressed.

Minister Makuei said Machar should stay in exile, claiming that the return of rebel leader to Juba will cause more problems.

Last week, Kiir also said everybody would be allowed to participate in the national dialogue in the capital except his arch-rival Riek Machar.

On Wednesday, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer urged the Security Council to unite behind a common strategy for advancing the political process and peace in the crisis-torn country.

The top UN official expressed concern over the exclusion of rebel chief Riek Machar from the national dialogue launched by Kiir.

Separately, Michael Makuei has dismissed as baseless, claims by the Khartoum government that Juba is aiding opposition elements intent on destabilising Bashir’s government.

Sudan recently claimed that Juba and Cairo were offering military support to the Sudanese armed opposition factions based in Darfur.

Instead, Makuei accused the Sudanese government of supporting South Sudanese rebels who are fighting to oust President Kiir.

“We have enough evidence that those people are in Khartoum and they are being accommodated in hotels, and military training camps are open to train them. So, the accusation that South Sudan is supporting Sudanese rebels is not true,” he said.