South Sudan President Salva Kiir has sacked two vice presidents, James Wani Igga and Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, in the latest reshuffle in the unity government.

Mr Kiir, in a presidential decree broadcast by the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, also dismissed the Head of the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service, Akech Tong Aleu.

No reason was given for the dismissals.

The president appointed Benjamin Bol Mel to replace Mr Igga as Vice President, representing the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.

Bol Bel, a renowned businessman who served as presidential envoy for a special programme, is now the vice president for the economic cluster.

Mr Kiir also appointed Josephine Lagu, Chairperson of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), a coalition of political parties under the 2018 peace agreement, as the vice president for the services cluster, succeeding Mr Abdelbagi, an SSOA member.

The president also named Charles Chiek Mayo as acting Head of the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service, replacing Mr Aleu, who had been in office for only four months.

Mr Igga will now serve as the new Secretary-General of the ruling SPLM, and Mr Abdelbagi as Minister of Agriculture, a portfolio he held before.

(Xinhua/NAN)