JUBA, South Sudan — Vice President Riek Machar has been formally charged with high treason and crimes against humanity following deadly clashes between government forces and opposition militias in March.
Justice Minister Joseph Geng announced that Machar is accused of aiding attacks carried out by the White Army, a militia composed largely of fighters from Machar’s own ethnic group. The assaults targeted military installations in Upper Nile State and resulted in significant casualties.
Seven others, including close allies of Machar, have also been indicted in connection with the violence. The charges include murder, conspiracy, terrorism, and destruction of public property.
Machar has been under house arrest since the March attacks. He assumed the role of vice president in 2020, two years after the end of a brutal civil war between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir—a conflict that claimed an estimated 400,000 lives.
The indictments mark a dramatic escalation in South Sudan’s fragile political landscape, where the peace agreement signed in 2018 remains under strain.