The United States said on Saturday that it would revoke all South Sudanese passport holders over failure to accept the return of its repatriated citizens, at a time when many in Africa fear that country could return to civil war.

The administration of the US President Donald Trump has taken aggressive measures to ramp up immigration enforcement, including the repatriation of people deemed to be in the US illegally.

The administration has also warned that countries that do not swiftly take back their citizens will face consequences, including visa sanctions or tariffs.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that South Sudan had failed to respect the principle that  every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the US, seeks to remove them.

“Effective immediately, the United States Department of State is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders.

“We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” Rubio said.

At the time of filing this report, South Sudan’s embassy in Washington has not commented on the development.

US revokes all South Sudan visas