The SPLM-IO led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar on Thursday afternoon said that National Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol has been arrested by operatives from the National Security Service from his office.
Puok Both Baluang, Dr. Machar’s acting press secretary, confirmed the arrest of their leading member to Radio Tamazuj and said the minister was picked up together with his minister.
“He was arrested from his office about 30 minutes ago (3:30 p.m.) with his secretary by the operatives of the National Security Service,” he stated.
Minister Par’s arrest is the latest in a series of arrests of SPLM-IO leaders and senior military officers after the White Army, a Nuer armed youth group, attacked and later overrun Nasir Town in Upper Nile State on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, tensions were heightened in Juba after the Nasir clashes led to the arrest of senior military officers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) at the SSPDF headquarters in Juba.
The arrested include Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam who is the co-chair of the Joint Defense Board (JDB), Deputy Chief of Staff of the SSPDF, and acting Chief of Staff of the SPLA-IO. The other SPLA-IO officers who were put under house arrest are Gen. Koang Gatkuoth Kerjiok, Inspector General of the SSPDF, Gen. Wesley Welebe, Assistant Chief of Staff for Supply, Gen. Ashhab Khamis Fahal, Assistant Chief of Staff for Moral Orientation, and Gen. Garang Ayii Akol, Director General of Procurement at the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and a representative of the SSOA.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, security personnel also picked up South Sudan Petroleum Minister Puot Kang from his residence in the Thongpiny suburb of Juba, according to his press secretary, Sirir Gabriel.
On Wednesday afternoon, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth, senior member of President Salva Kiir’s SPLM Party, addressed a press conference where he said the senior SPLM/A-IO officials were arrested because they were in conflict with the law.
“There is no joke about that. What we need is security. If anybody is arrested, it is for a reason. If you are in conflict with the law, it means you are accused of violating its provisions,” he stated. “Once you are in violation, you are automatically in conflict with the law and subject to arrest and court proceedings.”
The minister also addressed the situation in Nasir County, confirming that the White Army had taken control of the area. He stated that SPLA-IO commanders in Juba had contacted the SSPDF commander in Nasir, urging him to surrender for the safety of himself and his troops. The SSPDF commander and some of his troops were supposed to be airlifted out of the town by the UN but it has not happened yet according to sources.
There have been repeated political friction and counteraccusations between President Salva Kiir and Dr. Machar about the lack of will to implement the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). The deal, aimed at ending years of civil war, has faced repeated delays and challenges, particularly in unifying armed groups to form a national army.