This man, Riek Machar, South Sudan's first Vice President

South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar, the long-time rival to President Salva Kiir,as he arrives for a meeting with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir at the presidential office in Juba on October 19, 2019.[AFP]

South Sudan is on the verge of a renewed civil war following escalating tensions between First Vice President Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir.

Recent clashes between their loyal forces in the northern town of Nasir, Upper Nile State, have further fueled the conflict.

As a result, Machar was placed under house arrest on Wednesday, March 26, along with his wife, Angelina Teny, and two bodyguards.

Who is Riek Machar?

Riek Machar is a prominent figure in South Sudan's history, first as a rebel leader in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM/A), which fought for the country's independence.

He was also the leader of the SPLA-Nasir and played a role in the 1991 Bor massacre, in which over 2,000 mostly Dinka civilians were killed. In 2012, he publicly apologized for his part in the tragedy.

Following South Sudan's independence in July 2011, Machar became the first vice president of the newly formed country.

However, in July 2013, President Kiir sacked him during a cabinet purge amid ongoing power struggles. Machar later challenged Kiir's leadership and aimed to run for president in the 2015 elections, but Kiir accused him of attempting a coup, leading to Machar's removal.

Violence soon erupted between the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups, with Kiir's forces aligning with the Dinka and Machar's with the Nuer.

The violence rapidly spread across the country, escalating into a full-scale civil war.

International pressure and negotiations led to a peace agreement in August 2015, with Kiir and Machar agreeing to a ceasefire.

In 2016, Machar returned to Juba, was reinstated as vice president, but violence erupted again. He fled to exile and was later detained in South Africa.

In June 2018, after nearly five years of civil war, Kiir and Machar entered peace negotiations mediated by Uganda and Sudan.

The Khartoum Declaration of Agreement, signed that year, included a ceasefire and a commitment to a power-sharing arrangement. In 2020, a unity government was formed, but progress on implementing the 2018 peace deal has been slow.

Riek Machar's Biography

Machar, born in 1953 in Leer, Unity State, hails from the Nuer tribe.

He studied engineering at the University of Khartoum and earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Strategic Planning from the University of Bradford in 1984.

In 1991, he married Emma McCune, a British aid worker who tragically died in a car accident in Nairobi in 1993.

Machar later remarried Angelina Teny, a prominent South Sudanese politician.