South Sudan VP faces treason charges, raising civil war fears
Criminal charges against VP Riek Machar threaten fragile peace in South Sudan, a nation scarred by past conflict
JUBA, South Sudan (MNTV) — South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar has been charged with treason and other serious crimes, authorities announced Thursday, in a move that could plunge the country back into civil war.
Machar, under house arrest since March, faces charges of murder, terrorism and crimes against humanity alongside seven others, the justice ministry said. The case threatens to upend a fragile 2018 peace deal that ended five years of brutal conflict in which hundreds of thousands were killed.
The charges stem from a March militia attack that left government soldiers dead in Upper Nile state. Officials allege Machar coordinated the assault, but his supporters dismiss the accusations as politically driven.
“This is a political witch hunt,” said Puok Both Baluang, Machar’s spokesman, accusing the justice system of lacking independence.
International observers fear the escalation could revive ethnic violence that previously displaced millions and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, has endured persistent instability since President Salva Kiir and Machar turned rivals in 2013. Their power struggle, rooted in Dinka–Nuer divisions, devastated the oil-rich nation.
Regional leaders have urged both sides to uphold the peace agreement and avoid actions that could reignite fighting in the strategically important country.
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