By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South Sudanese security forces loyal to President Salva Kiir have arrested the peacebuilding minister, an ally of First Vice President Riek Machar, in an escalation of the political dispute gripping the world’s youngest country.
“The National Security Service (NSS) has struck again, arresting Hon. Stephen Par Kuol … from his office a few minutes ago,” Puok Both Baluang, spokesperson for the First Vice President, said on X on Thursday.
Church leaders in the African nation, which gained independence in 2011, have called for caution, warning that the rising tensions could lead to a new civil war.
Earlier this week, security forces arrested the petroleum minister, the deputy head of the army, and other senior military officials loyal to Machar.
The arrests follow intense fighting between national forces and the White Army militia, a loosely organised group primarily composed of armed Nuer, Machar’s ethnic group.
The government has not commented on the arrests, but Information Minister Michael Makuei on Wednesday accused forces loyal to Machar of collaborating with the White Army to attack a military formation near the Upper Nile town of Nasir earlier this week.
The White Army fought alongside Machar’s forces in the 2013–2018 civil war against predominantly ethnic Dinka troops loyal to Kiir.
An estimated 400,000 people were killed, and 2.5 million were displaced during the war, which broke out just two years after South Sudan gained independence from Sudan.
A peace deal struck in 2018 has largely prevented full-scale fighting between Kiir and Machar’s forces.
However, pockets of violence occasionally flare up among armed groups, and the civil war in Sudan has increased access to weapons.
Kuol, the peacebuilding minister, was among the politicians involved in the 2018 negotiations.
In a statement on Thursday, church leaders deplored the “escalating insecurity, political tensions, and violence that threaten the peace” and called for dialogue.
Kiir last year postponed long-delayed national elections to December 2026, citing the need for more time to prepare.
