Two top officials in South Sudan, including a government minister and a lieutenant general associated with Vice President Riek Machar, have been detained amid suspicions of a coup aimed at a specific group within the power-sharing government.
South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol, was taken from his residence in the capital, Juba, alongside family members and security detail, according to information from the ministry’s press secretary.
“The operation was carried out by individuals identified as part of the National Security Service,” the statement noted.
This action followed the arrest by soldiers from the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), the military loyal to President Salva Kiir, of Lieutenant General Gabriel Doup Lam on Tuesday night, and the encircling of Machar’s home.
Machar’s spokesperson decried the general’s arrest as a violation of the 2018 peace agreement that sought to conclude five years of civil conflict.
“This action endangers the entire agreement,” the spokesperson claimed in a statement. “We are also deeply worried about the heavy presence of SSPDF around [Machar’s] residence.”
The SSPDF claims that General Duop Lam and his troops have been collaborating with rebels in the Upper Nile state, an area where the UN Mission in South Sudan previously reported intensified fighting between the military and armed youth, involving weaponry that has led to civilian casualties.
Civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 after President Kiir dismissed Machar, which led to approximately 400,000 deaths, forced over 2.5 million people from their homes, and nearly half of the total population of 11 million toward starvation.
Although a peace agreement brought an end to the most severe fighting in 2018, its implementation remains incomplete.
The power-sharing government remains unstable, as last year’s elections were deferred due to inadequate funding, and the nation continues to grapple with poverty and violence.
Edited by Sean Sinico
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/south-sudan-minister-and-general-arrested-in-crackdown/a-71832976?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
