A fragile peace deal in South Sudan was collapsing on Thursday after the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, threatened to throw the country back into war.
A convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles entered Machar's residence in the capital Juba late on Wednesday and arrested him, according to a statement issued by a member of his party-a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has been building for weeks in the world's youngest country.
A power-sharing deal between Kiir and Machar has been gradually unravelling, risking a return of the civil war that killed around 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.
The deputy chair of Machar's party said his arrest had "abrogated" the agreement. "The prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy," said Oyet Nathaniel Pierino in a statement.
