South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity, Justice Minister Joseph Geng announced on Thursday.
The charges stem from a series of militia attacks in March against federal forces in Nasir, Upper Nile State. Authorities link the violence to the White Army, a community-based militia, which prosecutors allege operated under the command of leaders from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), including Machar.
President Salva Kiir has suspended Machar from his post, according to a state radio broadcast. Kiir also dismissed Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, who is facing similar charges.
Machar has been under house arrest since March. Geng said 20 individuals have been indicted alongside him, with 13 still at large. “Evidence shows coordination and direct responsibility of senior SPLM/A-IO figures in the attacks,” the minister stated.
The indictments mark the most serious move yet by Kiir’s government against Machar, his longtime political rival and a central figure in the country’s fragile power-sharing agreement. The development raises questions about the future of the unity government established under a 2018 peace deal aimed at ending years of civil conflict.
