(U.S. Embassy in Juba) – The U.S. Embassy seeks to clarify the status of U.S. military assistance to South Sudan. Following the outbreak of the conflict in December 2013, the U.S. government suspended its program of non-lethal assistance to the SPLA. This program, which operated from 2006-2013, was designed to help professionalize the SPLA and was developed by the United States at the request of the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior. The U.S. government has not resumed operation of this program and has not provided military assistance to the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GORSS) or to the armed opposition since December 2013. The U.S. government, however, has provided ongoing support to the regional effort led by the African Union to counter the Lord’s Resistance Army, which includes a limited SPLA role.
