The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Wednesday called for the immediate release of officials allied with South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar, warning that their detention risks derailing the country’s fragile peace agreement amid escalating tensions following deadly clashes in Upper Nile State.
The East African regional bloc, in a communiqué issued after an emergency virtual summit chaired by Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, urged President Salva Kiir’s government to free the detainees unless “credible evidence” justifies legal proceedings conducted transparently.
The statement did not name those held but noted arrests had paralyzed security mechanisms under the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS), which ended a five-year civil war between Kiir and Machar’s factions.
The move follows clashes on March 7–8 in Nasir County between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar, which killed South Sudanese army commander Gen Majur Duk and a United Nations staffer during evacuations. Kiir’s administration subsequently detained multiple Machar allies, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and senior military officials.
IGAD condemned the violence and ordered its ceasefire monitoring body, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), to investigate the clashes and an attack on a UN helicopter. It also plans to deploy a ministerial team to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, to assess stalled peace talks and push for “inclusive dialogue.”
The 2018 peace deal has faced repeated setbacks, including delayed elections, unmet security reforms, and persistent mistrust between Kiir and Machar.
While praising their joint appeal for calm after the Nasir violence, IGAD expressed “deep concern” over ceasefire violations and urged accelerated unification of armed forces and drafting of a permanent constitution.
Regional mediation efforts, including Kenya’s Tumaini Initiative aimed at engaging non-signatory groups, were endorsed. Religious and civil society leaders were also urged to support reconciliation.
Ugandan officials attended the summit as observers, while envoys from the UN and African Union emphasized aligning international support.
IGAD warned South Sudan’s stability hinges on implementing overdue reforms, stressing that “dialogue and discussion remain the only means for resolving differences.”
The bloc did not specify consequences for non-compliance but announced plans for continued high-level engagement to avert a return to war.
Reacting the IGAD statement, South Sudanese observer Edmund Yakani described the outcomes of the regional summit as “encouraging,” but urged the country’s leaders to act swiftly to implement stalled peace commitments.
Yakani said the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit could reinvigorate South Sudan’s peace process if President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar fully adhere to their obligations under the constitution and the 2018 peace agreement.
He identified a “severe trust deficit” among the unity government’s leadership as the primary obstacle to completing critical reforms and transitional tasks under the peace deal. This lack of cohesion, he argued, has allowed “peace spoilers” to obstruct stability efforts.