US calls South Sudan expulsion of UN official an 'affront'

The United States Tuesday condemned South Sudan's expulsion of an outspoken U.N. aid coordinator as an "affront to the international community" and called for the strife-torn country to reverse its decision. The U.N. announced Monday that South Sudanese officials had decided to expel aid coordinator Toby Lanzer just weeks before he was to leave for a new assignment. South Sudan's government justified the move by stating that Lanzer had crossed a line when he made a comment predicting that the country would collapse. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the expulsion "demonstrates a callous disregard for the suffering of the South Sudanese people."