Newspaper vendors chat on their way to sell newspapers in Juba, June 18, 2012.

The South Sudan Media Authority has suspended activities of the Arabic daily newspaper Al-Watan over what it says is non-compliance with its regulations.

According to the order seen by Eye Radio, the newspaper operated for almost a year without valid license.

The media regulatory body says Al-Watan violates section 45/1 of the Media Act 2013.

The provision stipulates that the institution may from time to time make regulations setting out license and conditions for different types of licenses.

This includes the period prior to the expiry of a license during which an application for several renewal shall be submitted.

The authority says the newspaper license has expired and the management has been acting in defiance despite directives to renew their document.

The order gives the newspaper owners 30 days to fulfill the needed requirement for it to resume publication.

This comes nearly three months after the media authority threatened to close the newspaper for reporting the protests in Sudan early this year.

When contacted by Eye Radio, the Editor-in-Chief of the Al-Watan Newspaper, Michael Christopher, declined to comment on the matter.