SOUTH SUDAN: South Sudan Brewery May Close

South Sudan's only brewery - once hailed as a symbol of freedom from Islamic rule - may be forced to shut down.

Its managing director Carlos Gomes said it was "difficult to continue with our operations", amid basic shortages of fuel to run generators and hard currency to buy materials.

Around 100 workers, roughly a quarter of the total workforce, had been sent home on leave.

Drinks giant SABMiller opened the brewery in 2009, two years before South Sudan gained independence from Islamic-ruled Sudan which places heavy restrictions on drinking alcohol.

The brewery was the biggest foreign investment outside the oil industry in mainly Christian and animist South Sudan.