South Sudan’s opposition has accused the government of enforcing “authoritarian control and one-tribe rule” after First Vice President Riek Machar was charged with orchestrating militia attacks and suspended from his role.
Machar’s SPLM-IO party rejected the charges, calling them “fabricated to abrogate the peace agreement, sideline Dr. Machar and the SPLM-IO, and entrench total government control.”
The charges against Machar and 20 others include murder, treason, and crimes against humanity related to alleged involvement in raids by the White Army militia in the northeast in March.
Machar’s detention under house arrest since March has sparked international fears of renewed conflict between his ethnic Nuer forces and Dinka fighters loyal to President Salva Kiir.
The strained partnership between Kiir and Machar has led to sporadic violence despite a peace deal ending the 2013-2018 civil war.
Political analysts believe Kiir seeks to replace Machar with his ally, Second Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel, who was sanctioned by the US over suspicions of preferential treatment in government contracts.
