(AP) – South Sudan’s main opposition party has announced that its leader, Riek Machar, has been arrested, prompting concerns from the United Nations and international allies.
The U.N. had warned on Monday that South Sudan was on the brink of another civil war following clashes in the north between government forces and an armed group aligned with Machar.
Machar is “in confinement by the government,” and his life is “at risk,” opposition spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a video statement on Wednesday night.
Nicholas Haysom, head of the U.N. mission in South Sudan, called on all parties to “exercise restraint and uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement.” The 2018 accord ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war, which claimed 400,000 lives, and brought President Salva Kiir and Machar together in a unity government. Machar currently serves as one of the country’s five vice presidents.
Tensions between Kiir and Machar’s factions have escalated since March when the White Army, a militia loyal to Machar, overran a government base in Upper Nile State and attacked a U.N. helicopter. The government responded with airstrikes and warned civilians in the area to leave or “face consequences.” More than a dozen people have died since mid-March.
On Wednesday night, opposition official Reath Muoch Tang reported that about 20 heavily armed vehicles surrounded Machar’s home, where he was arrested alongside his wife. “His bodyguards were disarmed, and an arrest warrant was delivered under unclear charges,” Tang said.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs urged President Kiir to lift Machar’s house arrest and “prevent further escalation of the situation.”
In early March, security forces detained several of Machar’s senior allies, a move his supporters denounced as a “grave violation” of the peace deal.
Amid rising instability, Germany and Norway have temporarily closed their embassies in Juba, while the U.S. has further reduced its diplomatic staff. The British Embassy has also scaled down operations, warning that consular services are now “severely limited.”
