JUBA, South Sudan – The South Sudanese opposition leader Riek Machar has fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo after being targeted by government troops, his spokesmen said Thursday, as a fragile peace deal to end more than two years of civil war unravels in the world’s youngest country.
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The statement, which was signed by armed opposition minister of Information, Mabior Garang, did not specify which country Machar had travelled to, whose location remained unknown since July 2016.
Renewed fighting between troops led by President Salva Kiir and those loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar that broke out in Juba in early July has displaced at least 15,000 people.
However, renewed fighting erupted in July, killing hundreds of people and forcing Machar’s troops out of Juba.
The United Nations Security Council voted this month to send 4,000 additional peacekeepers to South Sudan in recognition of the deteriorating situation, but so far peacekeepers have been able to do little to prevent the country from sliding backwards towards war.
But President Kiir opposed the move, saying that deploying without South Sudan’s approval would be a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Last year, President Barack Obama issued a partial waiver to South Sudan from the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008, allowing the U.S.to continue military assistance to support South Sudan’s peace process.
South Sudan, the youngest member state of the United Nations, began its life as an independent country with expressions of hope for a bright future.
Both sides are accused of committing atrocities against civilians.
Sacked South Sudan first vice-president, Dr Riek Machar, is seeking medical attention in the Democratic Republic of Congo after surviving in the bush in Western Equatoria for almost a month.
Government and rebel forces have recently clashed in the southern region of Yei, according to rebel leaders and local government officials. He said Machar had sustained a minor leg injury following several weeks of trekking in the wilderness.
Analysts were divided over how Mr. Machar’s exit from South Sudan would affect the country’s deteriorating security situation.
Reports suggest that more than one in five people from South Sudan’s 11 million people fled their homes because of the ethnic war.
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“Mr Gai is working well with President Kiir to implement it because the agreement provides for a replacement”. The fighting in Yei indicates that violence has shifted to a new front following Machar’s disappearance. “Such a force, we believe, needs to be able to ensure free and safe movement in Juba, as well as the protection of vital infrastructure”.
