South Sudan Vice President Charged With Murder, Treason

 

Zim Now Writer

South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity over a deadly assault on a military base earlier this year.

Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech announced Thursday that Machar allegedly ordered the White Army, a militia drawn from his Nuer community, to attack a base in Nasir between March 3 and 7. 

More than 250 soldiers, including senior officers, were killed in the assault. A UN helicopter sent to rescue troops also came under fire, leaving a pilot dead.

“These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians and attacks on humanitarian workers,” Akech said.

Machar, who has been under house arrest amid a deepening power struggle with President Salva Kiir, has not publicly responded to the charges. 

The indictment underscores fears of renewed civil war in the world’s youngest nation, where rivalries between Kiir and Machar have repeatedly plunged the country into conflict since independence in 2011.