Authorities shut prominent newspaper

South Sudan’s authorities have shut down a prominent newspaper, the Nation Mirror, the editor said on Wednesday, after it published details of a report released by a U.S.-based group alleging misuse of state funds by the nation’s leaders. The authorities did not give a reason for closing the paper, which has a daily print of […]

South Sudan’s authorities have shut down a prominent newspaper, the Nation Mirror, the editor said on Wednesday, after it published details of a report released by a U.S.-based group alleging misuse of state funds by the nation’s leaders.
The authorities did not give a reason for closing the paper, which has a daily print of about 2,500 copies and a website, editor Aurelions Simon Cholee told Reuters. But he said it might be linked to the publication of the U.S. Sentry report on corruption.
The move will add to concerns by rights groups about media freedoms in South Sudan. The authorities have detained journalists and temporarily closed media outlets as the five-year-old African nation has been convulsed by civil conflict.
There was no immediate government comment, and it was not immediately clear how long the closure would last.
Cholee said security officials summoned the editorial leadership and ordered the paper closed, saying it “indulges in activities that are incompatible with its status”.