NAIROBI (Reuters) – A spokesperson for South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar said on Thursday that forces have arrested the minister responsible for peacebuilding efforts, in the latest blow to the country’s fragile peace process following the arrests of other senior officials allied with Machar.
Armed clashes erupted between South Sudan People’s Defense Forces and armed civilians known as the “White Army” in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, resulting in deaths, injuries, and civilian displacement.
Local sources reported that fighting began early Monday, involving heavy gunfire and aerial bombardment. Teer Chol Gatkuoth, a youth leader from Nasir, told Radio Tamazuj that the violence led to casualties and forced many to flee in search of safety.
The civil war, which broke out in December 2013 after Kiir dismissed Machar, claimed an estimated 400,000 lives and forced more than 2.5 million to flee their homes, leaving nearly half of the country’s 11 million population struggling to find enough food .
Oil production, a vital source of income for the impoverished state, has also declined
