South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has removed James Odhok Oyay, the governor of Upper Nile state, from office, replacing him with James Koang Chuol, a lieutenant general from Nasir.
This move comes amidst escalating clashes between government troops and an ethnic militia, which Kiir alleges is allied with his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar.
The conflict began when the White Army militia forced government troops to withdraw from the town of Nasir, near the Ethiopian border.
In response, Kiir’s government detained several officials from Machar’s party, SPLM-IO, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army.
The situation has sparked fears that South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, may slide back into conflict, seven years after emerging from a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands.
The United Nations has warned that the country is “on the brink of relapse into civil war,” with 50,000 people already displaced due to the fighting around Nasir.
Oyay’s removal has been met with anger from SPLM-IO, which has partially pulled out of the 2018 peace agreement in protest over the arrests.
Machar’s spokesperson, Puok Both Baluang, condemned the move as “another unilateral action and a severe violation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement”.
