South Sudan’s Justice Ministry has filed treason and crimes against humanity charges against Vice President Riek Machar, accusing him of orchestrating a deadly assault on a military base in Nasir earlier this year.
More than 250 soldiers were killed in the March attack, which officials said was carried out by a militia linked to Machar’s Nuer community, known as the White Army.
Machar, under house arrest since the incident, has long shared a fragile power arrangement with President Salva Kiir.
The two men, once allies in the struggle for independence, led opposing factions during South Sudan’s five-year civil war that left about 400,000 dead.
A 2018 peace accord brought Machar back into government as vice president, but tensions and sporadic violence never fully subsided.
Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said the indictments demonstrate the government’s determination to hold those responsible for atrocities accountable.
Alongside Machar, 20 others were charged, including seven senior officials.
The charges include treason, murder, terrorism, conspiracy, destruction of property, and crimes against humanity.
Puok Both Baluang, a spokesman for Machar, rejected the indictment as politically motivated, arguing that South Sudan’s courts are subject to interference.
Opposition leaders have warned the move could deepen mistrust and destabilize the already fragile peace framework.
Details of the Nasir attack suggest the scale of violence: senior officers, including a general, were killed, and a UN helicopter was struck during a rescue mission, leaving a pilot dead.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) condemned the events, warning they marked a dangerous regression that risks erasing years of progress toward peace.
The case has raised fears of renewed conflict in the world’s youngest nation, where communities remain heavily armed and political reconciliation remains incomplete.