South Sudan’s first vice president, Riek Machar, is a longtime rival to the country’s president, Salva Kiir, and was placed under house arrest, his party says.
An armed convoy led by top security authorities, including the defense minister, entered residences in Machar in the capital Juba and disarmed his bodyguard on Wednesday, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM/IO) said.
“Technically, Dr. Machar is under house arrest, but security officials initially tried to take him away,” said Ruth Mooch Tan, chairman of the party’s foreign affairs committee.
The government has not commented yet.
The UN warns that South Sudan is returning to civil war following the escalation of the conflict between Machhar and the President that has been building for weeks.
The two leaders agreed to end a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people in August 2018.
However, over the past seven years, their relationship has become increasingly tense amid ethnic tensions and sporadic violence.
SPLM/IO said Macher was taken into custody along with his wife, Angelina Tenny.
“Arrest warrants have been delivered to him under unclear accusations,” Tan said in a statement, calling the action “a blatant violation of the constitution and the revitalized peace agreement.”
“The arrest of the first vice president without justification will undermine the rule of law and threaten the stability of the nation,” he added.
The UN mission in South Sudan, following reports of Macher’s detention, warned that if they return to “state of war,” the world’s latest nation risked losing “the hard-earned benefits of the past seven years.”
“Tonight, the country’s leaders are on the verge of recurring in a widespread conflict,” the mission said in a statement Wednesday.
He added that violations of the 2018 peace agreement “not only destroys South Sudan, it will affect the entire region.”
British and US embassies have reduced their diplomatic staff and urged citizens to leave the country while Norwegian and German embassies have closed their operations in Juba.
The escalating tension comes amid a new clash between forces loyal to two rivals who are loyal to the oil-rich northern town of Nasir in the Upper Nile province.
