South Sudan First Vice President Riek Machar faces charges of treason and other serious crimes, local justice authorities said Thursday, as fears grow that the east African country could be edging toward a return to civil war.
Machar has been under house arrest since March after the transitional government he is a part of accused him of subversive activities against President Salva Kiir.
Pro-government troops have been fighting militias and other armed groups they say are loyal to Machar, who serves as his country’s No. 2 under the terms of a delicate peace deal signed in 2018.
That agreement has not been fully implemented.
The criminal charges against Machar and others are likely to further destabilize South Sudan, whose government faces pressure from regional leaders to reach a political agreement that prevents a return to full-blown war.
It was not immediately clear when Machar would be presented in a courtroom. His precise whereabouts in South Sudan are unknown, and his political supporters have long called for his freedom.
