JUBA, South Sudan — The world’s youngest country, South Sudan, is facing a perilous slide toward civil war as tensions between its top leaders erupt into open conflict. On April 8, 2025, the nation’s fragile peace was shattered when President Salva Kiir’s defense minister led an armed raid on Vice President Riek Machar’s residence in Juba. Machar’s guards were disarmed, and the vice president was detained, marking a dramatic escalation in the long-simmering rivalry between the two men.
The bold move has reignited fears of ethnic violence in a country still scarred by a brutal civil war that ended in 2018, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. That conflict, fueled by the same Kiir-Machar power struggle, devastated South Sudan just years after it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The latest clash threatens to unravel a tenuous peace agreement that had briefly halted the bloodshed.
Also Read: Displaced Sudanese Begin Return to War-Torn Khartoum as Army Regains Ground
Security forces have flooded the streets of Juba, the capital, as the government tightens its grip amid rising unrest. Observers warn that the detention of Machar—a key figure for the Nuer ethnic group—could spark retaliatory attacks by his supporters against Kiir’s Dinka-led forces, plunging the nation back into widespread chaos.
South Sudan’s 14-year history has been marred by instability, corruption, and humanitarian crises, with millions displaced and its oil-dependent economy in tatters. The international community, which helped broker the 2018 peace deal, now watches anxiously as the specter of renewed ethnic slaughter looms. Without swift de-escalation, the world’s newest nation risks collapsing under the weight of its leaders’ unrelenting feud.
Key Points:
- Escalating Tensions: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir’s defense minister raided Vice President Riek Machar’s residence, disarming his guards and detaining him.
- Leadership Rivalry: The incident marks a dangerous escalation in the ongoing power struggle between Kiir and Machar, the country’s top leaders.
- Risk of Civil War: The clash raises fears of renewed ethnic violence and a return to civil war in South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, independent since 2011.
- Fragile Peace Threatened: The power struggle endangers the 2018 peace agreement that ended a brutal civil war, which had devastated the country and killed hundreds of thousands.
- Security Crackdown: Juba, the capital, is now swarming with security forces as the government responds to the heightened risk of unrest.
- Ethnic Tensions: Machar’s detention, as a Nuer leader, could provoke attacks by his supporters against Kiir’s Dinka-led forces, potentially igniting widespread conflict.
- Nation’s Struggles: South Sudan’s short history has been defined by instability, corruption, displacement, and economic collapse, making it vulnerable to further chaos.
