Security forces in South Sudan have arrested Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and several senior military officials allied with First Vice President Riek Machar. Deputy army chief General Gabriel Duop Lam was detained on Tuesday, while Chol was taken into custody on Wednesday along with his bodyguards and family.
The arrests come after an armed group linked to Machar overran an army base in Upper Nile State. Although authorities have not provided reasons for the detentions, Machar’s allies warn that the move threatens the fragile 2018 peace agreement between him and President Salva Kiir, which ended a five-year civil war that claimed over 400,000 lives.
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Machar’s spokesman, Puok Both Baluang, confirmed that other senior officials have been placed under house arrest. Meanwhile, South Sudan’s army spokesperson, Major-General Lul Ruai Koang, has declined to comment on the arrests or the military presence around Machar’s residence.
The latest tensions have raised fears of renewed instability in South Sudan, where political rivalries have previously led to violent conflict, mass displacement, and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
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