The power shearing deal between KIIR and Machar has been unraveled, threatening a return to South Sudan’s blood civil war.
South Sudan’s opposition parties have said the one-night arrest of President Salva Kia’s longtime rival, Rik Machar, the First Vice President, risked the 2018 peace deal and bring the country back to war.
A convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles entered Juba’s residence in the capital, where Juba arrested him, according to a statement issued by members of his party.
Malcolm Webb of Al Jazeera reported from Nairobi, saying, “A military vehicle has come to him.” [Riek Machar’s] He resided at night and forcedly disarmed all of his guards. They removed all the phones and laptops from the property, arrested the guards, took them to unknown locations, leaving only Macher in the residence. ”
Webb said, “This area is blocked by soldiers. In other parts of the city, life continues as normal. [the Sudan People’s Liberation Army In Opposition, or SPLM/IO] It describes it as a series of attacks by President Kiel’s military, a violation of the peace agreement. ”
Risk peace and stability
The power shearing contract between Kiir and Machar is slowly unraveling, threatening a return to the civil war that killed around 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.
“The outlook for peace and stability in South Sudan is now in serious danger,” said Oyette Nathaniel Pierino, vice-chairman of the Machar Party.
There have been extensive international condemnation from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), warning that reported arrests left the country “on the brink of recurring into widespread conflict.”
The US State Department on Thursday called on Kiir to “reverse this behavior and prevent further escalation” in a post from X.
Analysts say the 73-year-old Kiir has been trying to secure his succession and sideline macher for several months through cabinet changes.
“The 2018 agreement was focused on two important issues: one was to create a constitution that could be accepted by all political parties,” said Daniel Akech, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group in South Sudan.
Akech said: “The president fired the governor in February who was supposed to be an opposition led by Makar. He recently fired the governor at the Upper Nile.
“So this clearly captures strength,” he said.
“As we speak, this process is no longer binary,” Akech says. “We talk about the president and vice president as if they were the only actors, but there are a lot of them in the opposition against the government. So if this escalates to violence, this could be very dispersed with multiple actors, making it difficult to put out the fire.”
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