UN urges restraint after Machar’s arrest

The detention of South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar under house arrest has effectively collapsed the peace deal that ended the 2013-2018 civil war, his party said on Thursday.

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The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan called for restraint, saying the country stood at a critical juncture in its widespread conflict. “This will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region,” UNMISS said in a statement.

Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, deputy chair of Machar’s SPLM-IO party, said Machar’s detention meant the agreement had been “abrogated.” It “effectively brings the agreement to a collapse, thus the prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy,” he said.