\n South Sudan's opposition called Monday for an armed mobilisation to carry out \"regime change\" in response to plans to put its leader on trial for treason and crimes against humanity.\n<\/p>\n
\n A fragile power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, has been unravelling for months, threatening to return the young nation to a civil war that left 400,000 dead in the 2010s.\n<\/p>\n
\n On Thursday, Machar was charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity and stripped of his position as first vice-president in the unity government, having already spent months under house arrest.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was accused of ordering an ethnic militia's attack on a military base in March that the government said killed more than 250 soldiers.\n<\/p>\n
\n Machar's faction denies the charges and says they are part of Kiir's efforts to sideline the opposition and consolidate power.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The current regime... is a setup of dictatorship, peace spoilers and state capture that is holding power illegally and by violence,\" his party said in a statement, signed by acting chairman Oyet Nathaniel Pierino and shared on social media.\n<\/p>\n
\n The party and its armed forces \"shall work to effect in the Republic of South Sudan a regime change\", the statement said, calling on all supporters \"to report for National Service in defence of the citizens and the country\".\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Red warning' -\n<\/p>\n
\n South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but was quickly plunged into a devastating conflict between Kiir and Machar.\n<\/p>\n
\n The five-year war ended with a peace deal in 2018 but attempts by the international community to ensure a democratic transition have failed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Elections due to have taken place in December 2024 were again postponed to 2026 and the two sides have not merged their armed forces.\n<\/p>\n
\n Daniel Akech, a senior analyst on South Sudan for the International Crisis Group, said Monday's mobilisation call was not a major event in itself since Machar's supporters were already mobilised.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It's more of a political statement,\" he told AFP, adding that Machar's faction also lacked the \"capacity\" to seriously challenge the government.\n<\/p>\n
\n But it serves as a \"red warning\" to global partners who thought the power-sharing deal could still be salvaged, he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Waging war' -\n<\/p>\n
\n The attack on the military base in March took place in Upper Nile State, one of Machar's strongholds, by a loose band of fighters from his ethnic Nuer community known as the White Army.\n<\/p>\n
\n But Machar's supporters dismiss the charges against him and blame the government for destroying the peace deal.\n<\/p>\n
\n The government \"has been arresting senior members of the (opposition). It has been waging war against us,\" Pal Mai Deng, a spokesman for Machar's faction, told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n With Machar \"being forced to appear before a kangaroo court and imposing charges against him, (it) is a clear indication that the SPLM-IG has chosen instability over peace,\" he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n The government's information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n The United Nations Mission in South Sudan called in a statement on \"the parties to work together to resolve political deadlocks, reduce violence and recommit to the full implementation of the\" power-sharing agreement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Sudan's opposition called Monday for an armed mobilisation to carry out \"regime change\" in response to plans to put its leader on trial for treason and crimes against humanity. A fragile power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Riek Machar, has been unravelling for months, threatening to return the young nation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-149794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n