The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which mediated the peace agreement signed in August 2015, has not publicly reacted to the events in Juba, owing to more planned measures against the leadership in South Sudan, observers said.
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The move to replace Machar on Monday could potentially undermine last year’s peace deal and reignite war in Africa’s youngest nation.
Machar left Juba with his fighters after this month’s fighting and said he would only return after an worldwide body set up a buffer force to separate his forces from Kiir’s.
A former minister of mining, Deng Gai was a chief negotiator on behalf of Machar’s SPLM-IO group in the talks that led to last year’s deal. Some 1.69 million people are displaced inside the country, while 831,582 South Sudanese refugees are overseas, mainly in Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.
“During the course of the weekend, humanitarian organisations worked to decongest the collection points, as well as installing temporary shelters to increase capacities”. UNHCR has deployed additional staff, trucks and buses to assist.
Fighting in South Sudan that broke out on July 8 between rival factions loyal to Salva Kiir and Riek Machar has to date forced 37,890 people to flee the country to Uganda.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said host facilities are already suffering with shortages of healthcare supplies and facilities and space for the new arrivals. Numerous refugees have been moved to the Nyumanzi transit centre, where they are receiving hot meals, water, shelter and other life-saving assistance; others have been taken to expanded reception centres in Pagirinya.
A fresh outbreak of violence between soldiers and opposition supporters erupted across the country just as South Sudan marked the fifth anniversary of its independence from Sudan on July 9. Another 555 were received at the Kiryandongo settlement. “The majority of arrivals – more than 90 per cent – are women and children”, Yaxley said.
Those who fled were from South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria region, as well as from the capital, Juba, and the last week has seen the greatest surges.
However, sources told The EastAfrican that the former rebel ministers now holed in their hotel in Juba claimed to have voted to replace Dr Machar with Mr Gai under duress because they have been unable to leave the capital and that their lives are threatened.
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The new arrivals in Uganda reported there was ongoing fighting, while armed militias looted and burnt down homes and murdered civilians.
