A key party in South Sudan’s coalition government has suspended its participation in a crucial aspect of the 2018 peace agreement, citing political persecution and escalating violence.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by First Vice President Riek Machar, announced the decision Tuesday as tensions with President Salva Kiir deepened. The two leaders, former civil war rivals, have struggled to maintain unity, with recent clashes in the east further straining relations.
The move follows the arrest of several SPLM-IO officials, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army. Their detainment came after the White Army militia, composed mainly of ethnic Nuer youths aligned with Machar’s forces in the 2013-2018 war, forced government troops to retreat from Nasir, a town near the Ethiopian border.
Authorities accuse SPLM-IO of ties to the militia, a claim the party denies. Deputy Chairman Oyet Nathaniel Pierino condemned the detentions, stating that ongoing political crackdowns endanger the peace deal’s survival.
Since February, fighting in Upper Nile state has displaced 50,000 people, with 10,000 seeking refuge in Ethiopia, according to the United Nations. UN peacekeeping chief Nicholas Haysom warned that South Sudan risks a return to full-scale war, citing rampant misinformation and hate speech as aggravating factors.
The war in neighboring Sudan has further destabilized the region, disrupting South Sudan’s oil revenue and fueling cross-border arms flows. Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group cautioned that spillover violence could reach the capital, Juba, threatening fragile stability.
