Observers and opposition says prosecution of Riek Machar for crimes in relation to attack by rebel militia puts peace deal at risk
South Sudan’s opposition and observers have warned that the prosecution of the country’s suspended vice-president, Riek Machar, risks jeopardising a peace agreement that ended a devastating civil war and plunging the country into full-scale conflict once again.
On 11 September, Machar was charged with murder, treason, crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in connection with a deadly attack by the White Army rebel group on a government army garrison in Nasir county in the country’s north-east. President Salva Kiir then suspended him from his post.
The prosecution is the culmination of a series of developments this year triggered by the Nasir ambush that has escalated a longstanding feud between Kiir and Machar and raised concern for the fragile peace in the country.
In March, the White Army, a group of community militias that fought alongside Machar’s opposition forces during the civil war, overran a base in the county belonging to the country’s military, the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF). The militia said it had acted in self-defence.
