Riek Machar
Source: Africa Publicity
The detention of South Sudan’s First Vice-President Riek Machar has effectively collapsed the 2018 peace deal that ended the country’s five-year civil war, his party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM/IO), has announced.
Machar was detained alongside his wife Angelina Teny, the country’s interior minister, after an armed convoy led by top security officials, including the defence minister, entered his residence in Juba and disarmed his bodyguards. “The arrest and detention of H.E Dr Riek Machar effectively brings the [peace] agreement to a collapse,” said SPLM/IO deputy leader Oyet Nathaniel Pierino.
The UN has been warning that South Sudan is on the brink of a return to civil war, with tensions escalating between Machar and President Salva Kiir. The two leaders agreed to end the civil war in August 2018, but their relationship has become increasingly strained amid ethnic tensions and sporadic violence.
Pierino warned that Machar’s detention had “abrogated” the fragile peace deal, putting the prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan in jeopardy. “There is a high chance of full-scale war but it will be more deadly and more violent because of [the need] for revenge,” a resident told the AFP news agency.
The UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) also issued a warning, stating that the country’s leaders “stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict.” The mission added that violations of the 2018 peace deal “will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region.”
The situation remains tense, with a heavy military presence reported around Machar’s home. The British and US embassies have scaled down their diplomatic staff and urged their citizens to leave the country, while the Norwegian and German embassies have closed their operations in Juba.
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