South Sudan’s former first vice president and prominent opposition leader Riek Machar was refused entry into Sudan at Khartoum International Airport without clear reasons on Sunday afternoon, a military spokesman for the armed opposition group said.

The move represents a major shift in policy on relations between Sudan and rebel leader Riek Machar who left Khartoum last month to seek further treatment in South Africa.

Col. William Gatjiath Deng, military spokesman of the SPLA-IO, told Radio Tamazuj today that Riek Machar left South Africa for Khartoum via Ethiopia on Sunday, but he was denied entry at the airport by Sudanese officials.

“Dr. Riek left South African for Sudan through Ethiopia, so we went and met him at the Ethiopian Airport, and then he proceeded to Sudan, he arrived in Sudan around 12:00 pm, but he was asked to return to where he came from,” said Gatjiath.

The rebel official pointed out that Machar stayed at the airport for over two hours negotiating with the Sudanese officials to allow him into the country, saying Machar decided to return to Addis Ababa on the same day.

“Dr. Machar stayed at the airport for more than two hours, he was following the procedures, but he later returned to Addis Ababa boarding an Ethiopian Airlines plane, so he arrived in Addis Ababa around 6:30 pm,” he said.  

He noted that Machar left Addis Ababa today morning for South Africa.Gatjiath described the decision taken by the Sudanese government to stop Machar from entering its country as “politically motivated”.

“I don’t think that there is a problem between Dr. Riek and the Sudanese government, I think it is a political matter from somewhere not in Sudan,” said Gatjiath. “I am saying that because he was just asked to return back to where he came from, and nothing bad happened to him there,” he added.

File photo: former vice president Riek Machar