Troika, Germany and EU urges for peace, calls for restraint among leaders

The embassies impress upon the leaders of all parties the urgent need for immediate engagement in direct dialogue and demonstrate the security of their assertions to prove they are working for peace.

By James Chatim

The Troika, France, Germany and a delegation from the European Union embassies in South Sudan in a Joint statement on Thursday said they are seriously concerned about reports that First Vice President Dr. Machar had been placed under house arrest.

The international communities, including embassies of France, Germany and the three Troika countries (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) called on South Sudan’s President Kiir to reverse the action to prevent further escalation in the country.

They emphasized that they noted the First Vice President Dr. Machar’s position in the government as established under provision of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

Thus, impressed upon the leaders of all parties the urgent need for immediate engagement in direct dialogue and to demonstrate the security of their assertions to prove they are working for peace.

“The Embassies of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Delegation of the European Union express their grave concern over reports that First Vice President Machar has been placed under house arrest,” the group said in a Joint Statement on Thursday.

“We call on President Kiir to reverse this action and to prevent further escalation. We note that First Vice President Machar’s position in the government is established under Article 1.7.2 of the 2018 Peace Agreement (the R-ARCSS). We further call on President Kiir and all leaders with control or influence over armed groups to order an immediate ceasefire,” they said.

“We impress upon leaders of all parties the urgent need to engage without delay in direct dialogue, and demonstrate the security of their assertions that they are working for peace,” the group explained.

South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar was arrested in Juba on Wednesday night, his party’s Foreign Relations Committee chairman said in a statement.

Machar was arrested at his compound in an arrest involving “20 heavily armed vehicles,” Machar’s SPLM-IO party said in a statement.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said the reported arrest left the country on the brink of war.

“Tonight, the country’s leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy,” said UNMISS head Nicholas Haysom, who also called on all parties to “exercise restraint.”

Foreign governments have warned of a renewed outbreak of the civil war in South Sudan after weeks of tensions between SSPDF forces and the White Army, with Norway and Germany temporarily closing their embassies due to the security situation.

According to the UN, some 50,000 people have been displaced due to the conflict in Upper Nile since last month.

IGAD reckons past commitment

Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Executive Secretary, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, on Thursday expressed alarm over the house arrest of Dr. Riek Machar Teny, First Vice President, saying it could escalate the already existing political tensions in the country.

Dr. Gebeyehu said the arrest undermined the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and risk plunging the country back into violent conflict.

He reminded the South Sudanese political leaders over the communique of the 43rd Extraordinary IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government of 12th March 2025 which called on all parties to immediately refrain from unilateral actions that violate the spirit and letter of the R-ARCSS that remains the only viable framework for sustainable peace in the country.

“The current trajectory, if unchecked, could lead to a collapse of the transitional process and a relapse into full-scale war with devastating consequences for the people of South Sudan and the region at large.”

The Executive Secretary also urged all signatories to the agreement to exercise maximum restraint by prioritizing dialogue and resolving differences through inclusive and peaceful means.