PREVIEW
First Vice-President accused of murder, treason and crimes against humanity
By charging First Vice-President Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon and 20 others with murder, treason and crimes against humanity, President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government is raising concerns that all sides will abandon the 2018 peace accord and restart the civil war. The UN Security Council has urged restraint and for the rival factions linked to Riek and Salva to continue working on the agreement to unify the security forces. That looks improbable for now.
An official at the United States State Department said that both sides had effectively abandoned the 2018 agreement were continuing to use violence as a political tool. The charges against Machar and allies date back to March when Nuer youth from the White Army clashed with Salva’s forces on gunboats and helicopter gunships, according to Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech. Lieutenant-General David Majur Dak was killed in the firefight (AC Vol 66 No 18, Salva and Riek risk a return to war).
Machar has been under house arrest since 26 March, together with Angelina Teny, his wife and the interior minister, and several bodyguards, despite entreaties from the US and other governments to release them (AC Vol 66 No 7, Salva sidelines Riek). Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) has stated that the arrests are a breach of the 2018 peace agreement.
Justice Minister Akech says the charges are meant to send a clear message that no one is above the law – if they attack humanitarian personnel and government soldiers. But Riek’s allies insist he had nothing to do with the clashes in March and the charges are an attempt to sideline him politically.
Uganda has sent military support to Salva Kiir in defiance of a UN arms embargo. President Yoweri Museveni’s son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba said that any move against Salva could trigger an intervention by Kampala’s forces.
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