The political landscape in South Sudan is again fraught with tensions as Vice President Riek Machar faces a crackdown from President Salva Kiir, following the rise of the White Army. Key dismissals of Machar’s allies raise questions regarding the stalled peace process, with civilian attacks and military responses escalating fears of potential civil war.
Amid escalating tensions in South Sudan, the country’s political stability appears precarious. Vice President Riek Machar’s residence in Juba has been surrounded following the detention of several of his allies, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and his entourage. Both Machar and Chol are prominent figures from the Nuer ethnic group, which constitutes the nation’s second-largest demographic after the Dinka.
The crackdown by President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, highlights a long-standing rivalry that has historically ignited conflict. This situation escalated after the White Army, a militia associated with Machar’s Nuer minority, took control of Nasir, a significant town in Upper Nile State, from government military forces. Machar had previously supported the White Army during the civil war.
Although a peace agreement in 2018 mandated the unification of various ethnic militias into a national army by 2022, negotiations have stalled. In February, President Kiir’s administration dismissed several of Machar’s allies, including the health minister, bypassing the required consultation with the vice president. Shortly afterward, national troops attacked civilians in Nasir during an encounter with the United Nations mission.
In retaliation for ongoing military abuses, armed youths killed at least four soldiers, which sparked a military response involving airstrikes against Machar loyalists. This troubling escalation follows the recent resumption of oil production in South Sudan, a crucial source of revenue for this economically strained nation.
The political climate in South Sudan is deteriorating, driven by ethnic tensions and a fracturing peace process. President Kiir’s recent actions against Vice President Machar and his allies threaten to rekindle conflict, with the resurgence of the White Army and ongoing military abuses further complicating the situation. Despite a glimmer of hope with the resumption of oil production, the prospects for lasting peace remain uncertain as civil strife looms.
Original Source: www.gzeromedia.com
