US diplomat Nikki Haley evacuated from South Sudan refugee camp amid protests

She was there to discuss the ongoing civil war and US aid to the young country

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley looks from a UN watch tower at the UN Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan, 25 October 2017. (ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley had to cut short a visit to a refugee camp in Juba, South Sudan after protests against the country's president.

UN peacekeepers protect some 30,000 displaced people in that particular camp, with Ms Haley being forced to evacuate as those opposing South Sudanese President Salva Kiir grew rowdy.

Hundreds of people lined the street yelling "Salva Kiir is a killer" and "Welcome USA.”

Protesters held a large sign that read "South Sudan IDPs [internally displaced people] and refugees love President Trump, the peacemaker and supporter of human rights."

The UN said Ms Haley left as people in the camp “became upset that she was not able to meet with them, due to time constraint.”

Residents of the camp also worked to give what the UN referred to as a “petition” on the civil war that has been ongoing since 2013 and the resulting displacement in the country.

Nearly two million people have also fled the country as a result of the violence, famine conditions, and allegations of government corruption.

Ms Haley has been on a three-country African tour and met with Mr Kiir regarding the crisis.

Ms Haley was there to tell Mr Kiir that the US has “lost trust in this government and we now need to regain that trust,” according to a statement issued by the UN Mission in South Sudan.

“We are disappointed by what we are seeing. This is not what we thought we were investing in,” Ms Haley said as the US has spent $11bn in the country on humanitarian and development aid since it gained independence in 2011.

She noted that “what we thought we were investing in was a free, fair society where people could be safe and South Sudan is the opposite of that.”

Mr Kiir, according to a statement, “emphasized his commitment” to peace talks which took place last week in Juba and are set to continue in December of this year.

Several attempts at peace deals have failed in the past, but Mr Kiir said in the statement that he assured Ms Haley: “all disputes can only be resolved through dialogue and not arms.”

Ms Haley is the highest-level US government official to visit South Sudan since President Donald Trump took office.

She is in Africa to see the involvement of the US and United Nations in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Congo, where she will be on Thursday.

Aid groups continue to urge the US to take a harder stance against the Kiir administration, particularly since the UN has alleged the government restricts access of aid workers.