U.N. Urges Calm After Reported Arrest of South Sudan Vice President

GO – Juba – The United Nations has called for restraint from all political actors in South Sudan following reports that First Vice President Riek Machar has been arrested — a development that threatens to unravel the country’s fragile peace.

In a statement issued early Thursday, Nicholas Haysom, head of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), warned that a return to violence could “jeopardize the hard-won gains of the past seven years.”

“Tonight, the country’s leaders stand at a crossroads: either relapse into widespread conflict or move forward with peace, reconstruction, and democracy, as envisioned in the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement,” Haysom said.

The SPLM-IO, Machar’s political party, said in a statement that a heavily armed convoy of 20 vehicles entered Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba, on Wednesday. The security detail guarding the vice president was reportedly disarmed, and Machar was served with an arrest warrant under unclear charges.

The convoy allegedly included South Sudan’s defense minister and the head of national security.

“This is a blatant violation of the Constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement, as no legal procedures such as lifting his immunity were followed,” said Reath Muoch Tang, chair of SPLM-IO’s foreign relations committee, in a Facebook post.

“The arrest of the First Vice President without due process undermines the rule of law and threatens national stability,” he added.

Tensions between Machar and President Salva Kiir have intensified in recent months. UNMISS previously reported that armed clashes had erupted outside Juba in the past 24 hours between forces loyal to both leaders.

The power-sharing agreement signed in 2018 has come under increasing strain, with the Kiir-led government recently detaining several high-ranking SPLM-IO officials, including the petroleum minister and the deputy army chief.

SPLM-IO further alleged that government forces had launched attacks on a military base and two training camps near Juba since Monday.

The situation has raised concerns fears of a return to full-scale conflict in a country still recovering from years of civil war.

Garowe Online – Juba