The scene of an artillery attack in El Fasher city, North Darfur state, Sudan on August 26, 2024. Photo: THX/TTXVN
South Sudan’s opposition says the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, a longtime rival of President Salva Kiir, has nullified the 2018 peace deal that has been the foundation of South Sudan’s fragile stability. The arrest, along with escalating military clashes and alleged attacks on civilians, signal a serious breakdown of the peace process and pose a direct threat to the lives of millions of people in South Sudan, the UN Human Rights Commission in South Sudan said in a statement.
The statement stressed that failure to uphold the protections enshrined in the South Sudan Peace Agreement, including freedom of movement, political participation and an end to conflict, could lead to a resurgence of “catastrophic war” in the country. According to experts, compliance with the peace agreement and the protection of civilians are “crucial to preventing full-scale war in South Sudan”.
The UN Human Rights Commission in South Sudan said that violence has increased in several areas during March and armed clashes have spread to near the capital Juba amid reports of opposition figures being detained without due process in violation of the peace agreement’s terms on political integration and the rule of law. The deliberate targeting of opposition leaders and civilians is a flagrant disregard for international law and the future of the country, according to Yasmin Sooka, chair of the UN Human Rights Commission in South Sudan.
Comment (0)