Machar says he is under forced confinement in Juba

JUBA – First Vice President and leader of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) Dr. Riek Machar Teny has said that he is under confinement in Juba and cannot leave the capital despite being the second man in the government.

The powerful opposition leader made the revelation during the graduation of the first batch of the unified forces on Tuesday at Dr. John Garang De Mabior Mausoleum where over 21,000 of the peace forces were graduated and integrated into the organized forces.

Machar congratulated the forces and said South Sudanese who have been displaced by the conflict have been waiting for the day of the graduation of the forces and said he is among them as he has been confined to the capital Juba.

“This is the day that our people have been waiting for, millions in the countryside, others in the Protection of Civilians Sites [PoCs], millions of refugees, and of course, myself who have been marooned and stuck in Juba,” Machar said.

“We have all been looking forward to this graduation to happen. The transitional security arrangements are the backbone of this agreement, without it, the peace will not hold,” he added.

The first vice president has never left the country since the formation of the revitalized transitional government of national unity and while there were speculations that the IGAD was confining him to Juba, the regional block said it has no restrictions on Machar and therefore he was free to travel to any country of his choice.