S.Sudan Vice President Riek Machar arrested - Africa
A convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles entered Machar's residence in the capital Juba and arrested him, according to a statement issued by a member of his party, in a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has been building for weeks in the world's youngest country.
A power-sharing deal between Kiir and Machar has been gradually unravelling, threatening a return of the five-year civil war that killed around 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.
"We strongly condemn the unconstitutional actions taken today by the Minister of Defense and the Chief of National Security, who, alongside more than 20 heavily armed vehicles, forcefully entered the residence of the First Vice President," said the statement, which was shared on Facebook by Reath Muoch Tang, his party's foreign relations committee chairman.
"His bodyguards were disarmed, and an arrest warrant was delivered to him under unclear charges. Attempts are currently being made to relocate him," it added.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said Thursday the reported arrest left the country on a precipice.
"Tonight, the country's leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict," UNMISS head Nicholas Haysom said in a statement.
Breaches of the 2018 peace deal "will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region," he added.
South Sudan -- which declared independence from Sudan in 2011 -- has remained plagued by poverty and insecurity since the peace deal.
Analysts say an ageing Kiir, 73, has been seeking to ensure his succession and sideline Machar politically for months through cabinet reshuffles.
More than 20 of Machar's political and military allies in the unity government and army have also been arrested since February, many held incommunicado.
There have been violent clashes between forces loyal to the two rivals, most notably in the northeastern Nasir County of Upper Nile State.
Machar's party says a military base and two military training centres around Juba have been attacked by government forces since Monday.
A spokesman for Machar's military wing, the Sudan People's Liberation Army In Opposition (SPLA-IO), on Wednesday condemned the attacks as "terrorism" in a post on Facebook, and urged the international community to act.
The training centres were established to prepare opposition forces for integration into the unified army, a key provision of the 2018 peace agreement aimed at uniting government and opposition troops.
None of the incidents have been confirmed by the Kiir-aligned army, the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), though it accused Machar's forces of aggressive manoeuvres from one of the bases on Monday.
Many in Juba are unsettled by the latest clashes and political tensions.
"I am so worried about the situation. I feel like we are going back to war while we still need peace," Lilian Sukeji told AFP.
"Our leaders need to embrace dialogue rather than guns," she said.
'Red warning'
Prior to Machar's arrest, Kiir said he reaffirmed his "unwavering commitment to restoring peace" following a meeting with church leaders.
But it follows weeks of violent clashes, particularly in Nasir County, where government forces loyal to the president have battled the so-called White Army, a militia with ties to Machar.
"The violence that started in March in Nasir seems to be spreading across a number of states in South Sudan," warned International Crisis Group's South Sudan senior analyst Daniel Akech.
He said the refusal of Kiir and Machar to engage in dialogue -- despite pressure from the international community -- was a "red warning".
If wider conflict did break out, he said, "it will be a very decentralised kind of violence, which would be very difficult to stop" as it could quickly escape the two leaders' control.
International observers have expressed increasing concerns, with Norway and Germany closing their embassies in Juba.
The British and US embassies in Juba announced they were reducing to minimal staffing, and urged citizens to leave the country.
Follow us on:
Short link:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
8 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt urges halt to Israeli violations in Lebanon, enforcement of UN Resolution 1701 - Foreign Affairs
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has called for an end to Israeli violations in Lebanon and the full, non-selective implementation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1701. In a phone call on Tuesday with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Abdelatty stressed the importance of halting external interference in Lebanese affairs, ceasing Israeli aggressions, respecting Lebanon's sovereignty and airspace, releasing Lebanese detainees, and securing Israel's withdrawal from the five occupied Lebanese points in line with international legitimacy. According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt's longstanding support for Lebanon across regional and international forums. He highlighted Egypt's ongoing contacts with relevant parties, stressing Cairo's backing for strengthening Lebanese national institutions to better serve the Lebanese people. The Egyptian minister also conveyed President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's greetings to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Salam, reiterating Egypt's solidarity with their efforts to uphold the authority of the state and preserve national unity and stability. The call also reviewed preparations for convening the Egyptian–Lebanese Joint Higher Committee at the level of the two prime ministers. The committee is tasked with boosting bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, and reconstruction, as well as enhancing coordination on issues of shared concern. For his part, Salam expressed appreciation for President El-Sisi's supportive positions toward Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, while voicing eagerness to deepen economic and trade ties and advance reconstruction programmes. Regional context The Egyptian–Lebanese discussions came a day after US envoy Tom Barrack urged Israel to honour its commitments under the ceasefire that ended its 2006 war with Hezbollah. Barrack, visiting Beirut, said Washington is in talks with Israel to clarify its position. His visit followed a recent Lebanese cabinet decision instructing the army to draw up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year — a step without precedent since Lebanon's post-civil war disarmament of militias. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Claims Egypt blocking aid to Gaza are ‘a big lie': FM Abdelatty to CNN - Foreign Affairs
Egypt's foreign minister Badr Abdelatty has rejected accusations that Cairo is obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza as a 'big lie', insisting that Israel alone controls the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing and is responsible for blocking relief supplies. The foreign minister's statements came in an exclusive interview with CNN's Becky Anderson on board a plane on the way to an international press conference on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Monday. Abdelatty explained to Anderson that the Egyptian terminal of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remained open, while the Palestinian terminal on the other side 'was destroyed by Israel four times by Israel.' 'The Israelis are physically there, preventing any truck or person from moving in. Israel is the main country blocking and putting restrictions on the flow of humanitarian and medical aid,' he said. Abdelatty also warned against attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians through Rafah, describing displacement as a 'red line.' He said: 'There is no moral, ethical, legal, or political justification for displacement. Those people are attached to their homeland. Displacement is a one-way ticket … it means only one objective: the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.' Asked by Anderson about the usefulness of a peace treaty that 'cannot be negotiated,' Abdelatty defended Egypt's 1979 treaty with Israel, calling it 'the main pillar of stability in our neighbourhood.' He stressed that Cairo maintains security and intelligence contacts with Israel, but said the real obstacle is 'the lack of political will' to reach a political settlement. In Rafah, on the Egyptian side, during a joint press conference with Palestinian prime minister Mohamed Mustafa at Rafah, Abdelatty reiterated Cairo's rejection of 'Greater Israel' illusions and any attempt to displace Palestinians, a position Mustafa praised as 'an impregnable barrier' to Israeli plans. On Sunday, Cairo urged other states not to become complicit in any ethnic cleansing efforts as they constituted a war crime under international law. Since 27 July, Egypt has dispatched 17 aid convoys, in collaboration with the UN and its humanitarian partners, to stem famine conditions in Gaza amid a five-month-old Israeli blockade on the strip. However, Israel has prevented the entry of hundreds of aid truck into Gaza by imposing endless inspections of content and arrestining truck drivers. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
UN slams Israel's block on bringing tents to Gaza - Region
The United Nations took aim Tuesday at Israel's months-long block on bringing tents into the Gaza Strip, despite continual displacement orders issued to civilians in the devastated territory. Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said shelter items had been banned from entering Gaza for about five months -- a period when more than 700,000 people had been displaced or re-displaced. "They may have been provided with a tent and then they are displaced again and they have no possibility of taking the tent with them," he told a press briefing in Geneva. He said the Israelis could classify tents as "dual use" because they considered tent poles to have a potential military purpose. Israel announced earlier this month that it intended to take over Gaza City and issued another displacement order to residents on Saturday. Laerke said the order had not changed the situation on the ground and tents were still not being allowed into the territory. Separately, the UN human rights office accused Israel of sending Palestinians to areas where strikes were continuing. Spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said "hundreds of thousands" were being told to go to south to Al-Mawasi, which he said was still under bombardment. He said Palestinians in Al-Mawasi had "little or no access to essential services and supplies, including food, water, electricity and tents". Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
