On March 5, 2025, South Sudanese authorities arrested several senior officials, including the petroleum minister and a general linked to Vice President Riek Machar, amid potential coup rumors. These arrests may be connected to ongoing violence in Upper Nile state involving ethnic Nuer rebels. The 2018 power-sharing deal faces risks due to these developments, while President Kiir pledges the country will not return to conflict.
On March 5, 2025, several senior officials in South Sudan, including three prominent politicians from the SPLM-IO party and a lieutenant general aligned with Vice President Riek Machar, were arrested amid a potential coup targeting a faction of the power-sharing government. Notably, the petroleum minister, Puot Kang Chol, was detained at his residence in Juba along with family and security personnel, as confirmed by the ministry’s press secretary.
The arrests coincided with actions by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), allied to President Salva Kiir, who detained Lieutenant General Gabriel Doup Lam and surrounded Machar’s residence. A spokesperson for Machar stated that this arrest breaches the 2018 power-sharing agreement that concluded a five-year civil war, warning that such actions jeopardize the existing peace framework.
The exact reasons for the detainees’ arrests remain unspecified; however, speculations have arisen linking them to recent violence in Upper Nile state, where ethnic Nuer rebels engaged government forces. The SSPDF accuses Lam’s forces, primarily of the Nuer ethnic group, of cooperating with these rebels. Reports from the UN Mission in South Sudan highlight increasing confrontations and civilian casualties in the region.
Violence has deep roots in South Sudan, which erupted into civil conflict in December 2013 following Machar’s removal by Kiir, resulting in approximately 400,000 deaths and displacing over 2.5 million citizens. Despite a peace agreement in 2018, its implementation remains incomplete, and the fragile power-sharing government faces ongoing challenges, including postposed elections and widespread poverty. In light of recent arrests, President Kiir emphasized that the country will not regress to war, according to government representatives.
The recent arrests of key officials in South Sudan signal significant tensions within the power-sharing government, raising concerns about the stability of the peace agreement that ended years of conflict. The actions of the SSPDF and implications related to ongoing ethnic violence highlight the delicate state of governance. Amid this turmoil, the commitment to avoid a return to war, as stated by President Kiir, forms a critical aspect of South Sudan’s future as it navigates its ongoing challenges.
Original Source: www.dw.com
