The arrest of General Gabriel Duop Lam, a senior figure in South Sudan’s main opposition party, has been labelled a “grave violation” of the 2018 peace agreement that ended the country’s five-year civil war.
The opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) condemned on Thursday March 6 the detention of Lam and other key officials, all allies of Vice-President Riek Machar, whose rivalry with President Salva Kiir led to the devastating conflict in 2013.
Machar’s spokesperson, Puok Both Baluang, stated that the SPLM-IO was unaware of the whereabouts or conditions of their detained officials. Baluang expressed the opposition’s determination to avoid escalation but called on peace partners to demonstrate political will to prevent a return to war. Despite these calls, government spokesperson Michael Makuei defended the arrests, claiming the opposition figures were detained for “conflict with the law”. He reassured the public that South Sudan would not return to war.
The arrests come amid growing tensions, including clashes between government forces and the White Army militia in Upper Nile state. This militia, which fought alongside Machar’s forces during the civil war, has reportedly seized a strategic town near the Ethiopian border. The ongoing violence has raised fears that it could undermine the fragile peace deal, with experts warning that the country risks sliding back into war unless the situation is addressed by South Sudan’s leadership.