Machar’s party calls for ‘unconditional’ release of detained officials in Warrap

JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by First Vice President Riek Machar, called for the immediate release of its officials arrested in Warrap State’s capital, Kuajok, on Tuesday.

Opposition officials told Sudans Post that security forces detained Kuech Deng, the SPLM-IO leader in Warrap and speaker of the state legislative assembly, along with his legal advisor and party spokesperson, around 11:30 a.m. local time at the state parliamentary building in Kuajok.

In a statement, SPLM-IO spokesman and national minister of water resources and irrigation Pal Mai Deng confirmed the detentions.

“Rt. Hon. Kuec Deng Mayar, Speaker of the Warrap State Legislative Assembly and Chairperson of the SPLM (IO) in Warrap State, along with the State Legal Advisor, Hon. John Kok Deng, Chairperson of the Education Standing Committee in Warrap State Legislative Assembly, and the party spokesperson, Hon. Luka Thiony Majok, were arrested this morning, April 15, 2025, by security operatives in Kuajok, Warrap State,” Mai said.

The minister warned in the strong-worded statement that the continued arrests of opposition officials from the SPLM-IO, a key signatory to the revitalized peace agreement, threaten the collapse of the 2018 peace deal.

“These continuous arbitrary arrests, detentions, and offensive attacks on both civilians and SPLA (IO) forces by the SPLM-IG and its security apparatus significantly increase the risk of collapse of the R-ARCSS,” he added, referring to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.

The SPLM-IO reiterated its commitment to the peace deal and called for the “unconditional release” of all its detained members and the withdrawal of foreign forces.

“We also urge the SPLM-IG to cease detaining our officials and officers, waging military offensives against civilians and SPLA (IO) positions, engaging in ethnic profiling and summary executions, and to reverse all violations so that the country can return to a state of normalcy,” Deng said.

Dut Majokdit, an SPLM-IO member of the National Liberation Council, had earlier told Sudans Post that the security forces took the speaker, the advisor, and the spokesman to an undisclosed location.