Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Juba (Agenzia Fides) - The peace agreement in South Sudan is at risk following the arrest of Lieutenant General Gabriel Doup Lam, a senior military officer linked to First Vice President Riek Machar, whose home has been surrounded by the army. Oil Minister Puot Kang Chol, also close to Machar, has also been arrested. The minister, in office since 2020 as part of the power-sharing agreement established in the 2018 peace treaty, is believed to be held in the military intelligence detention center. In addition, his relatives and bodyguards were reportedly arrested, and their phones and laptops confiscated.
“This action violates the peace agreement and paralyzes the Joint Defence Board, which oversees the command and control of all forces. These measures erode trust between the parties,” said a spokesman for Machar, confirming the news of the arrest of the senior officer. The arrests come amid persistent political and security tensions in South Sudan, where episodes of violence between rival factions and communities continue, despite the peace agreement signed in 2018 to end the civil war that broke out in December 2013. The conflict, which pitted President Salva Kiir's side against Riek Machar's, caused the deaths of some 400,000 people, the displacement of millions and left the country economically and socially devastated.
The Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed in 2018 by both parties, has suffered repeated delays and obstacles, especially in the process of unifying armed groups for the formation of a national army. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 5/3/2025)
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