South Sudan on edge as authorities arrest first vice-president

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM/IO), a political party in South Sudan, says the arrest and detention of the country’s first Vice-President Riek Machar, has eliminated the 2018 peace deal that ended the country’s five-year civil war.

Late Wednesday evening, an armed convoy led by top security officials, including the defence minister, entered Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba, and disarmed his bodyguards.

A statement released by the SPLM/IO said Angelina Teny, Machar’s wife, who is also the country’s interior minister, was detained alongside her husband.

According to Oyet Pierino, SPLM/IO deputy leader, Machar was arrested based on accusations of supporting the White Army militia, which clashed with the country’s troops earlier this month.

Machar had led an armed opposition group during South Sudan’s civil war that began in 2013.

The conflict erupted after President Salva Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup.

The civil war fought between forces loyal to Machar and Kiir left hundreds of thousands of people dead.

It ended in a deal that brought both men together in a fractious national unity government by integrating their forces into a unified national army.

In a statement on Thursday, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) warned that the country’s leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict.

UNMISS called on all parties to exercise restraint and uphold the peace agreement that puts the best interests of the people at the forefront.