South Sudan’s First Vice-President Riek Machar, a long-time rival of President Salva Kiir, has been placed under house arrest, his party claims. An armed convoy led by top security officials, including the defense minister, entered Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba, and disarmed his bodyguards late on Wednesday, according to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition (SPLM/IO). While the government has yet to comment, the United Nations warns that the country is on the verge of a return to civil war due to escalating conflict between Machar and the president. The two leaders had agreed in August 2018 to end a five-year civil war that resulted in nearly 400,000 deaths. However, tensions have grown over the past seven years due to ethnic fluctuations and sporadic violence. Machar was detained alongside his wife, Angelina Teny, who is also the country’s interior minister. The arrest was carried out under unclear charges, the SPLM/IO claims, calling it a “blatant violation of the constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement” and a threat to national stability. The UN mission in South Sudan warns that the country’s progress over the past seven years could be lost if it returns to a state of war. Diplomatic staff from the British and US embassies have been scaled down, and those from Norwegian and German embassies have closed their operations in Juba due to the escalating tensions. Renewed clashes between forces loyal to the two rivals have also been reported in the northern town of Nasir in the oil-rich Upper Nile State.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q1jppzp4no