South Sudan closes independent radio station following rebel interview

South Sudan's police closed down the country's first independent radio station on Friday, after it broadcast an interview with a rebel leader last month.

National Security Service (NSS) forces ordered the closure of Eye Radio, which is funded by USAID, but failed to give a reason at the time.

An anonymous journalist has alleged that the closure was related to an interview with SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar, broadcast in October.

"I think they (NSS) are referring to a voice clip recorded from an interview given to al-Jazeera," the source told the Sudan Tribune.

Other Eye Radio journalists have confirmed the rumour, adding that the clip was broadcast because it contained a message of peace.

"We thought it was a possible news story because it did not call for a renewal of hostilities," an unnamed Eye Radio journalist said.

"The government should immediately allow Eye Radio to resume broadcasts and stop harassing journalists for doing their jobs." - Murithi Mutiga, Committee to Protect Journalists

In an official statement on the closure, the station's CEO, Stephen Omiri, announced that he planned to work with authorities.

"At the moment, the senior management of Eye Radio is following up with authorities with the view to immediately resolve this matter," Omiri said, via a statement published to Twitter.

"We will continue to update our listeners and the general public if new information becomes available or when the station resumes broadcast."

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the station's closure.

"The closure of Eye Radio is arbitrary and amounts to brute force censorship of a vital source of independent news for the people of South Sudan," said Murithi Mutiga, CPJ's East Africa representative.

"The government should immediately allow Eye Radio to resume broadcasts and stop harassing journalists for doing their jobs."

Paul Jacob Kumbo, the director-general for information in South Sudan, told the CPJ that he didn't know why Eye Radio had been closed.

South Sudan is a dangerous country for journalists and stories routinely surface of harassment and violence against reporters. In 2015, the CPJ reported that a total of 72 journalists were killed while carrying out their work in the country.

In September, a South Sudanese newspaper was closed without reason after it reported details of government corruption.

The Reporters Without Border's (RSF) 2016 Press Freedom Index placed South Sudan 140th out of 180 countries and warned of a "fragile situation" for journalists.

"Forced by the government not to cover issues linked to the conflict, the media are very sparing in their reporting on important developments," RSF said in their report on South Sudan.