South Sudan VP Charged With Murder, Crimes Against Humanity

South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason, terrorism, conspiracy, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity following an attack on a military base in Nasir County that killed over 250 soldiers. The attack, carried out by the White Army militia from Machar's ethnic Nuer community in early March, also resulted in the death of a United Nations pilot during a rescue attempt. Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech condemned the crimes, highlighting violations of the Geneva Conventions, including desecration of corpses and attacks on humanitarian workers, and emphasized that no one, regardless of political influence, would be exempt from accountability. These charges come amid the unraveling of a fragile power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and Machar, with Machar placed under house arrest and many allies detained as Kiir moves to consolidate power. The United Nations has expressed concern over what it calls an alarming regression threatening years of peace-building progress in the world's youngest nation. The escalating political tension is further intensified by Machar's historical role in the country's civil war and ongoing conflicts in the resource-rich Upper Nile State.