EU urges South Sudan president to ‘reverse’ course over VP arrest

The EU on Friday urged South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir to reverse course and defuse tensions after the arrest of his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, sparked fears the country was tipping toward civil war.

The bloc’s executive body, the European Commission, said it was scaling back staff presence in the African nation due to the deteriorating security outlook.

“The European Union expresses its deep concern about the house arrest of First Vice President Machar. We call on President Kiir to reverse this action and defuse the situation,” commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

Machar’s arrest late on Wednesday marked a dramatic escalation of tensions that have been building for weeks in the world’s youngest country.

A power-sharing deal between Kiir and Machar has been gradually unravelling, risking a return of the civil war that killed around 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.

“Due to the deteriorating security situation in South Sudan, we have taken the decision to temporarily scale back the presence of staff within the European Union delegation,” El Anouni told a press conference in Brussels.

Juba appeared calm on Friday with shops open and people on the streets, an AFP correspondent saw.

But a heavy military presence including a tank remained outside Machar’s home, which is located just metres (yards) from the president’s home.

South Sudan — which declared independence from Sudan in 2011 — has remained plagued by poverty and insecurity since the 2018 peace deal.

Analysts say the ageing Kiir, 73, has been seeking to ensure his succession and sideline Machar politically for months through cabinet reshuffles.

More than 20 of Machar’s political and military allies in the unity government and army have also been arrested since February, many held incommunicado.