As refugee crisis grows, South Sudan faction ousts leader

A faction of South Sudan’s opposition on Saturday replaced its leader after First Vice President Riek Machar went into hiding following violent clashes earlier this month. Experts worry the move could result in more fighting and add to the growing refugee crisis in the country.

Machar’s chief of staff, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, said Taban Deng would serve in Machar’s place until his return. Deng worked as the party’s chief negotiator during peace talks following the 2013 conflict. The replacement came at the end of a 48-hour ultimatum South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir gave for Machar’s return.

“I’m only just filling a vacuum,” Deng said. “If Riek Machar comes back, I will gladly step aside if that could bring peace to South Sudan.”

Nyarji Roman, one of Machar’s spokesmen who is also in hiding, described the new appointment as a conspiracy to overthrow Machar. On Friday, Machar accused Deng of holding unilateral negotiations with Kiir’s faction and called for his dismissal. Machar fled the capital Juba after Kiir’s forces bombed his house in clashes that killed at least 300 people. Kiir asked for Machar to return to the capital by Saturday.

But the vice president said he would not return until his security was guaranteed.

“There is no point to come back to be assassinated,” Machar’s spokesman Goi Jooyul told Agence France-Presse. “Dr. Machar is still being hunted around Juba.”

South Sudan’s civil war began in December 2013 after clashes between Kiir’s and Machar’s troops. The war killed more than 10,000 people and displaced more than 2 million others. A delayed 2015 peace deal led to the formation of the transitional government in April and Machar’s resumption of the role of vice president. But some experts worry replacing Machar could lead to more fighting.

“Machar still has a lot of support, and his support is well-armed,” said Ebrahim Deen, a researcher with the Afro Middle East Center in South Africa. “It could increase the length of the current political vacuum.”

The resurging conflict also is creating a refugee crisis. More than 8,300 refugees crossed into neighboring Uganda in a single day last week, setting a record for this year, United Nations officials said Friday. The past week has seen more than 26,000 South Sudanese leave the country.

“At the moment, humanitarian organizations are coping, but just about,” Charles Yaxley, a UN Refugee Agency spokesman, told Reuters.