The first vice-president of South Sudan, Riek Machar, was placed under house arrest by state security forces, announced his party on Thursday, raising fears of the fears of a conflict renewed in the nation marked by the war.
The Sudan people’s liberation movement in opposition (SPLM-IO) said that a heavily armed convoy, including senior security officials and the Minister of Defense, entered the capital of Machar in the capital, Juba, Wednesday evening and disarms his bodyguards.
“Technically, Dr. Machar is under house arrest, but security officials initially attempted to withdraw it,” said Reath Muoch Tang, president of the SPLM-IIO Committee for Foreign Relations.
The South Sudanese authorities have not yet publicly commented on the situation.
The SPLM-IO said that Machar had been arrested with his wife, the Minister of the Interior Angelina Teny, under what he called an “unclear” arrest warrant.
The group described this decision as a “blatant violation” of the Constitution and the revitalized peace agreement of 2018.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (Unsiss) warned that the country was likely to turn into general violence, declaring that the arrest has marked a potential turning point.
“Tonight, the country’s leaders are on the verge of relapse in a widespread conflict,” said a missing, exhorting respect for the peace agreement signed in 2018 to end a five -year civil war that made nearly 400,000 lives.
Relations between MACAR and President Salva Kiir have been more and more tense in recent months, fueled by ethnic divisions and sporadic clashes.
The latest fighting reports in the city of northern Nasir in the state of the upper Nile have further increased concerns.
Foreign embassies began to suppress operations. The American and British missions reduced the staff and urged nationals to leave the country, while the Norwegian and German embassies suspended the activities in Juba.
