S.Sudan gov't says Vice President Machar 'under house arrest'

NAIROBI — The South Sudan government said on Friday First Vice President Riek Machar was "under house arrest," two days after he was detained, as a former Kenyan premier arrived in Juba to mediate the crisis threatening to end the fragile peace deal between rival factions.

Machar's arrest by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir prompted UN Chief Antonio Guterres on Friday to call on warring parties to "put down the weapons" and "put all the people of South Sudan first," as the conflict risks plunging the world's youngest nation back into civil war.

Kiir "directed the placement of Dr Riek Machar under house arrest", information minister and government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth said in a statement, in the first official comments since Machar's detention.

Despite the arrest, Juba appeared calm on Friday, with shops open and people on the streets, an AFP correspondent said.

Makuei blamed Machar for clashes in recent weeks in Nassir County, accusing him of been "agitating" his forces "to rebel against the government with the aim of disrupting peace so that elections are not held and South Sudan goes back to war".

He called on the public "to be calm and maintain peace", adding that Machar and his allies "will be investigated and brought to book".

The unravelling power-sharing deal between Kiir and Machar risks a return of the civil war that killed around 400,000 people in five years.

The deputy chair of Machar's party said his arrest "abrogated" the agreement.

"The prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy," Oyet Nathaniel Pierino said in a statement on Thursday.

But Makuei insisted the peace agreement was still intact.

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.

The international community fears a resurgence of war and has strongly condemned the arrest of Machar.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), warned that the country was "on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict".

The US State Department on Thursday called on Kiir to "reverse this action and prevent further escalation".

Kiir eyes succession -- analysts

Kenyan President William Ruto, chair of the East African Community (EAC), announced Thursday that he was sending a special envoy "to engage" and try to "de-escalate" the situation.

That envoy, former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, arrived on friday in Juba to help mediate, his spokesman told AFP.

The decision was taken after a telephone conversation with Kiir and consultations with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Ruto said.

"The Special Envoy is presently engaged with the escalating situation in our sisterly country," Korir Sing'Oei, principal secretary of Kenya's foreign ministry, said on X.

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

Analysts say Kiir, 73, has been seeking to ensure his succession and sideline Machar through cabinet reshuffles.

More than 20 of Machar's political and military allies in the unity government and army have also been arrested since February, many held incommunicado.

Machar's party said three of its military bases around Juba have been attacked by government forces since Monday.

The training centres were established to prepare opposition forces for integration into the unified army -- a key provision of the 2018 peace agreement aimed at uniting government and opposition troops.

None of the incidents has been confirmed by the Kiir-aligned army, the South Sudan People's DefenceForces, although it accused Machar's forces of aggressive manoeuvres from one of the bases on Monday.

The British government has reduced its diplomatic staff to a minimum and urged its citizens to leave the country.

Germany and Norway have closed their embassies in Juba, while the United States has scaled back its diplomatic staff to a minimum and also advised its citizens to leave.

This week, the head of UNMISS condemned indiscriminate attacks on civilians, particularly in the northeast of the country.

Machar's arrest comes after weeks of clashes between federal forces loyal to Kiir and the "White Army", a militia accused by the government of collaborating with Machar.