South Sudan opposition says vice president's arrest ends peace deal

SOUTH Sudan's opposition said yesterday the arrest overnight of First Vice President Riek Machar, long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, had invalidated their 2018 peace deal and risked plunging the country back into war.

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A convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles entered Machar's residence in the capital, Juba, late on Wednesday and arrested him, according to a statement issued by a member of his party a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has been building for weeks in the world's youngest country.

A power-sharing deal between Kiir and Machar has been gradually unravelling, threatening a return of the civil war that killed around 400000 people between 2013 and 2018.

"With the arrest and detention of Dr Riek Machar Teny, the R-ARCSS 2018 has been abrogated," said Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, deputy chairman of Machar's party, using a technical term for the peace deal.

"The prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy," he added.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said yesterday the reported arrest left the country teetering on the edge of a precipice.