This visit of the Indian team comes a day after the US Embassy in Juba announced that most of the Mission's personnel are being evacuated and the Embassy would now have the bare minimum staff.

The team will assess the needs of key Indian interests in South Sudan.

Meanwhile, all eyes are set on Addis Ababa where the South Sudanese government delegation, led by former foreign minister Nhial Deng Nhial, and representatives of Riek Machar are believed to have reached. They would be meeting the IGAD mediators and are likely to meet each other over the weekend. Following the visit to South Sudan, the Indian diplomats will travel to Addis Ababa to meet IGAD mediators.