Following
reports that First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar was placed under house
arrest, the US urges President Salva Kiir to free him.
Top security
officials disarmed Machar's guards and placed him under house arrest on
Wednesday evening amid escalating tensions, according to the SPLM-IO.
Although the
government has yet to comment on the development, the U.S. Bureau of African
Affairs expressed concern over reports of Machar's house arrest.
‘We urge
President Kiir to reverse this action & prevent further escalation of the
situation. It is time for South Sudan's leaders to demonstrate sincerity of
stated commitments to peace,” the bureau stated on their official X account.
The United
Nation Mission in South Sudan has also called for restraint and urged all
parties to uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement.
The ongoing conflict has raised concerns among observers and citizens about the stability of South Sudan's fragile peace process, with fears that the country may relapse into renewed civil war.
