Inspector General of Armed Police Force Kosh Raj Onta cancelled his visit to South Sudan hours before he was scheduled to board a UN special flight to Juha, the South Sudanese capital, on Sunday night.

IG Onta was slated to go to South Sudan on a 10-day visit to attend a United Nations held Medal-Parade ceremony at a time when many southern districts of the country have been witnessing rising violence as agitations over the constitution draft continue.

Curfews have been clamped in at least half a dozen places with several more being declared restricted areas for demonstration.

On Sunday, the Kathmandu Post Online broke the news about Onta’s scheduled visit to South Sudan at 11:51am.

Deputy Inspector General Pushpa Ram KC, spokesperson for the APF, confirmed the cancellation of the trip at around 3pm. “In view of the current security situation of the country, the APF chief cancelled his visit,” said DIG KC.

Earlier on Sunday, senior security officials speaking to the Post on condition of anonymity had described Onta’s proposed trip abroad while “Nepal is burning” as “grossly negligent and insensitive”.

The APF was also widely criticised for its “ineffective” role to avert the violence in Tikapur last week that claimed the lives of eight police personnel, including a Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police. Bodyguard of SSP Laxman Neupane, who survived the events on August 24 in Kailali, said that SSP Neupane “would be alive had the APF helped.”

Following the incident, Chief District Officer of Kailali and police heads of the area including then APF DIG Khadananda Chaudhary were transferred for failing to effectively perform their duty of maintaining law and order during the violent protest. The Cabinet had recently approved the APF chief’s visit.