Arrest of South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar Threatens Peace Deal

Machar's detention by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir has escalated tensions, with his party declaring the 2018 peace agreement effectively nullified.

Riek Machar, South Sudan's First Vice President and opposition leader, was arrested on March 26, 2025, at his residence in Juba by heavily armed forces loyal to President Salva Kiir.
Machar's party, SPLM-IO, has declared the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement effectively collapsed, citing his arrest as a violation of the deal and the constitution.
Clashes between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar have intensified, displacing over 50,000 people and raising fears of a return to full-scale civil war.
The United Nations and international actors, including the African Union and the United States, have called for Machar's release and urged both sides to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation.
The fragile peace deal, which aimed to integrate opposition forces into a unified army, had already been under strain due to delayed implementation and rising ethnic and political tensions.