UN warns Machar's arrest brings South Sudan closer to war

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres expressed concern on Thursday about "alarming" developments in South Sudan, saying the arrest of the country's vice president brings it closer to civil war, according to a UN spokesperson.

"The secretary-general is following with deep concern the alarming situation in South Sudan," Stephane Dujarric told reporters, referring specifically to the arrest and detention of the first vice president by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir.

Machar and Kiir are longstanding rivals who entered a power-sharing deal in 2018 which has been gradually unravelling, risking a return of the civil war that killed around 400,000 people in the African nation.

Machar's house arrest "takes the country yet one step closer to the edge of collapse into civil war and the dismantling of the peace agreement," said Dujarric, calling for the official's release.

Return to revitalised peace agreement

He urged South Sudan's leaders to "resolve their grievances" and put the interests of the people first.

"We want to see a return to the revitalised peace agreement and that would include restoring the freedom of the first vice president," Dujarric added.

The population "can ill afford to endure the consequences of yet another civil war," Dujarric said, noting that 9.3 million South Sudanese "are already in need of some form of humanitarian assistance with conflict, climate change and economic crisis, keeping too many people on the verge of survival."

South Sudan, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011, has remained plagued by insecurity since the peace deal in 2018.