The management of Al Masier, the main daily Arabic newspaper in South Sudan, on Tuesday announced that they will stop operations indefinitely, owing to internal differences among the shareholders.

Sources close to the newspaper indicated that the management was forced to take the decision when the government ordered them to withdraw the share of the majority shareholder Dr. Dhieu Mathok, who joined the rebellion under the command of Dr. Riek Machar last December.

But the chief editor of Al Masier newspaper Mathiang Cirilo Yel dismissed claims that security agents were involved in the shutdown of the paper.

In an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, he noted there had already been administrative differences over the distribution of profits among the shareholders even before the defection of the chairman of the Board of Directors.

“We differed in opinions therefore we decided to disengage our partnership with Dr. Dhieu Mathok and his brother Wol Mathok. You know, the share of Dhieu was 40% while the share of Wol was 30% and the remaining share is ours.”

Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing was also a lecturer in the Center for Peace and Development Studies at University of Juba and Chairperson of the National Employees’ Justice Chamber before joining the rebellion led by Riek Machar in December last year, after which he was formally dismissed by the president.

“Our differences also deepened when Dr. Dhieu decided to joined the rebels in December last year, because we believe in peaceful settlement,” said the editor.

He further revealed that the same staffs who founded Al Masier will establish a new newspaper called Al Mouqif.

Destiny, the English version of Al Masier daily, was shut down soon after its launch in 2011, following publication of a controversial opinion piece objecting to the marriage of the daughter of President Salva Kiir to an Ethiopian national.

Last year one print run of Al Masier daily was also seized by security agents for covering the press conference held by SPLM dissidents headed by the former vice president Riek Machar on 6 December last year.

The paper was the first Arabic newspaper established in South Sudan after the referendum for secession of South Sudan. Most of the journalists involved in the founding of the paper had gained experience in the print sector in Khartoum.

The founding journalists were Atem Simon, Mathiang Cirilo, Abraham Mariak Albino, Abraham Malek and Boi John.