South Sudan’s Peace Deal Collapses as Riek Machar Placed Under House Arrest
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RDA Gulf Correspondent
- . March 27, 2025
- . Update: March 27, 2025 7:46 pm
The delicate peace agreement in South Sudan has essentially disintegrated after First Vice President Riek Machar was kept on house arrest, sparking worries regarding the peace deal. His SPLM-IO party announced the agreement was nullified signaling that peace and stability were now under threat.
Machar has been instrumental to South Sudan’s peace process by co-signing the 2018 agreement with President Salva Kiir to end the horrific five year conflict which left 400,000 people dead. As the head of the main opposition faction, he played an important role in the transitional government.
His arrest, apparently ordered by the defense minister and national security chief, comes after accusations from the government of links to recent fighting in Upper Nile State which the allegations made by the group Machar leads.
Both the United States and the United Nations called for his immediate release, cautioning that rising tensions could destabilize not only South Sudan but the region as a whole.
