The political crisis in South Sudan appears to be deepening with the house arrest of First Vice-President Riek Machar which his allies say effectively ends a 7-year peace deal.
His Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in-Opposition said Machar’s movements have been under restriction by the government led by his arch political rival President Salva Kiir.
His wife is also under arrest, officials close to Machar said.
SPLM/IO claimed government soldiers led by the defence minister surrounded the Juba home of Mr Machar and disarmed his personal bodyguards on Wednesday evening before making futile attempts to whisk him away.
Reath Muoch Tang, who chairs the party’s foreign relations wing has been quoted as saying Machar was the subject of an arrest warrant over bogus charges.
Tang described the move against Machar as a “blatant violation of the constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement” and undermines the rule of law and the peace and stability of South Sudan.
His apparent house arrest brings to a head several weeks of violence in Upper Nile State where the White Army who are affiliates of Mr Machar had attacked a military base leading to the arrest of several of his supporters in the government.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan has issued a statement warning of a possible return to open conflict.
Reacting to Machar’s apparent arrest, Nicholas Haysom the head of UNMISS and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General said “Tonight, the country’s leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement”.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Western countries have been advised to leave the country as the German and Norwegian diplomatic missions shut down with the capital bracing for conflict.
The peace deal in South Sudan which has been holding precariously since 2018 was already in danger following the detention of Mr Machar’s opposition allies earlier in March.
The deputy head of the national army Gen Gabriel Doup Lam and oil minister Puot Kang Chol who belong to Machar’s SPLM-IO party were arrested over armed skirmishes between the White Army and government forces in Nasir, a town in oil-rich Upper Nile State.
Mr Machar and the White Army were once the staunchest of allies during the country’s war of independence against Sudan.
Kiir and Machar’s stewardship of the government of national unity into its seventh year is overshadowed by deep-seated problems including question marks over implementing crucial terms of the peace deal.
There are still several aspects of the peace process which remain unresolved including the fact that the military wing of the opposition SPLM-IO which has not been integrated into the South Sudanese regular army.
South Sudan, with a population of 11.48 million people is the world’s newest country twice postponed elections originally scheduled for 2015 and 2024 due to the precarious political situation and lack of funds.
A new date for the polls has been slated for December 2026 in the oil-rich East African nation of 11.48 million people.
WN/as/APA