South Sudan’s Vice President Machar is Under House Arrest, his Party Says

By: BBC

South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar, a long-time rival of the country’s President Salva Kiir, has been placed under house arrest, his party has said.

An armed convoy led by senior security officials, including the defense minister, entered Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba, and stripped him of his bodyguards on Wednesday, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM/IO) said.

“Technically, Dr Machar is under house arrest, but security officials tried to take him away earlier,” said Reath Muoch Tang, chairman of the party’s foreign relations committee.

The government has not said anything yet.

The United Nations has been warning that South Sudan is on the brink of returning to civil war following an escalating conflict between Machar and the president that has continued for weeks.

The two leaders agreed in August 2018 to end a five-year civil war that has killed nearly 400,000 people.

But over the past seven years, their relationship has deteriorated amid ethnic tensions and sporadic violence.

The SPLM/IO said Machar was detained along with his wife Angelina Teny, who is also the country’s interior minister.

“An arrest warrant was served on him under vague charges,” Tang said in a statement, calling the move “a clear violation of the constitution and the Renewed Peace Accord.”

“The arbitrary arrest of the first vice president undermines the rule of law and threatens national stability,” he added.