Khartoum: Uganda has sent special forces to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, to stabilize the city as tensions rise between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, raising fears of renewed civil conflict.
The situation in South Sudan has grown increasingly volatile following the detention of two ministers and several senior military figures linked to Machar by Kiir’s government. One of the ministers has since been released. The arrests, coupled with violent clashes in the northern town of Nasir, threaten the fragile 2018 peace agreement that ended a brutal five-year civil war, which claimed nearly 400,000 lives.
Uganda’s military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, confirmed the deployment via posts on social media platform X. “As of two days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it,” he stated. He also emphasized Uganda’s allegiance to Kiir, warning that any move against him would be considered an act of war against Uganda.
South Sudanese government officials and military representatives have not yet commented on the situation.
Uganda has intervened in South Sudan’s conflicts before, deploying troops in 2013 to support Kiir’s forces against Machar. The troops were withdrawn in 2015, only to be redeployed in 2016 after renewed clashes, before eventually pulling out again.
Uganda is concerned that a resurgence of full-scale war in South Sudan could trigger a refugee crisis and regional instability. However, Kainerugaba did not specify whether Uganda’s latest deployment was made at the request of Kiir’s government or how long the forces would remain in Juba.
