(AP) – South Sudanese soldiers surrounded the residence of Vice President Riek Machar in the capital on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, following the arrest of several of his allies. The arrests came after an armed group aligned with Machar overran an army base in the country’s northern region.
Machar, whose longstanding political rivalry with President Salva Kiir has previously led to civil war, had warned last month that the dismissal of several of his allies from government positions posed a threat to the 2018 peace agreement. The accord, signed between Machar and Kiir, brought an end to a five-year civil conflict that claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people.
Among those detained was Deputy Army Chief Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, a close ally of Machar, who was arrested on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in connection with the northern clashes. Additionally, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, along with his bodyguards and family, was taken into custody on Wednesday. Authorities have not provided a reason for these arrests.
While neither Machar nor his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) party has issued a statement regarding the ongoing conflict, Water Minister Pal Mai Deng, who also serves as the party’s spokesperson, cautioned that Lam’s detention “puts the entire peace agreement at risk.”
Western envoys last week urged South Sudanese leaders to take steps toward de-escalating tensions.
Ter Manyang Gatwich, executive director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy, has called for the immediate release of those detained, warning that failure to do so could lead to further violence and potentially escalate into a “full-scale war.”
South Sudan has yet to fully implement the 2018 peace agreement. Elections initially scheduled for last year were postponed by two years due to financial constraints.
