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South Sudanese authorities have arrested several high-ranking officials loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and Deputy Army Chief General Gabriel Duop Lam, while troops have surrounded Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba.
General Lam, a key ally of Machar, was detained on Tuesday, while Minister Chol was arrested the following day, along with his bodyguards and family.
No official explanation had been given for the arrests, which came shortly after an armed group allied with Machar seized an army base in the northern Upper Nile state.
The political rivalry between Machar and President Salva Kiir has previously led to a brutal civil war.
In the wake of Machar’s recent dismissal of several of his allies from government positions, he warned that such actions could threaten the 2018 peace agreement that ended the conflict.
The 2013-2018 civil war killed more than 400,000 people and displaced millions.
Water Minister Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for Machar’s SPLM-IO party, condemned the arrests, stating that they jeopardize the peace agreement and undermine the Joint Defence Board, a critical institution responsible for overseeing South Sudan’s military forces.
“This action violates the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan and cripples the Joint Defence Board,” Deng said. “These actions undermine trust between the parties and put the entire peace agreement at risk.”
Spokesperson, Puok Both Baluang, added that several senior military officials loyal to Machar had also been placed under house arrest, although the reasons for the detentions remain unclear.
Major-General Lul Ruai Koang, the South Sudan army spokesperson, declined to comment on the arrests or the heavy military presence around Machar’s home.
The civil war that erupted in December 2013 after Kiir dismissed Machar resulted in the displacement of over 2.5 million people and severe food insecurity across the country.
The growing unrest in Upper Nile stated seems to have heightened tensions between the two factions.
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