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The main popular south Sudanese daily newspaper of Al Masier has been closed after government enforced the paper to suspend the share of the majority shareholder for joining the rebellion.Sources close to the newspaper revealed that the closure was due to the government’s order to withdraw the shares of Dr Dhieu Mathok, who joined the rebellion under the command of Dr Riek Machar last December.

However, the chief editor of Al Masier newspaper Mathiang Cirilo Yel dismissed claims that security agents were involved.

In an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, he noted there had already been administrative differences over the distribution of profits among the shareholders even before the defection of the chairman of the board of directors.

“We differed in opinions therefore we decided to disengage our partnership with Dr. Dhieu Mathok and his brother Wol Mathok.”
“The share of Dhieu was 40 percent while the share of Wol was 30 percent and the remaining share is ours,”  the chief editor said.

Last year one print run of Al Masier daily was also seized by security agents for covering the press conference held by SPLM dissidents headed by the former vice president Machar on December 6 last  year.

The paper was the first Arabic newspaper established in South Sudan after the referendum for secession of South Sudan. – APA.