The military chief of Uganda, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced on Tuesday that the country has deployed special forces to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, with the stated aim of “securing it.” This deployment comes amid rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, fueling fears of a potential return to civil war.
Tensions have escalated in recent days in South Sudan, an oil-producing nation, following the detention of two ministers and several senior military officials aligned with Machar by Kiir’s government. One minister has since been released.
These actions in Juba, along with deadly clashes around the northern town of Nasir, are seen as jeopardizing the 2018 peace deal that aimed to end a five-year civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar – a conflict that resulted in approximately 400,000 deaths.
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“As of 2 days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it,” Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, stated in a series of posts on the X platform overnight into Tuesday. “We the UPDF (Ugandan military), only recognise one President of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir … any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda,” he asserted in another post.
As of yet, neither South Sudan’s government information minister nor the military spokesperson have responded to requests for comment.
Uganda previously deployed troops to Juba in 2013, following the outbreak of civil war in South Sudan, to support Kiir’s forces against Machar. These troops were withdrawn in 2015 but were redeployed in 2016 after renewed fighting between the two sides, before being withdrawn again at a later date.
Uganda is concerned that a full-scale conflict in its northern neighbor could lead to a surge of refugees crossing the border, exacerbating regional instability.
Kainerugaba has not disclosed whether the latest deployment was at the request of Kiir’s government or the intended duration of the troop presence.
Rising Civil War In South Sudan
Sporadic fighting has erupted in South Sudan in recent days, highlighting the precarious nature of the peace between Kiir and Machar. The pair signed a peace deal in 2018 aimed at ending the five-year civil war.
In addition to the recent detentions, dozens of soldiers and a general were killed in the northern town of Nasir amid clashes between the South Sudanese army and the White Army militia, which Kiir has linked to Machar.
While Kiir has insisted that he will not allow a return to war, analysts have warned that the risk of renewed conflict remains significant.
In a statement released on Friday, the United Nations urged “all actors to refrain from further violence and for the country’s leaders to urgently intervene to resolve tensions through dialogue and ensure that the security situation in Nasir, and more broadly, does not deteriorate”.
Uganda’s decision to deploy troops mirrors its actions in 2013 when it sent soldiers to Juba to reinforce Kiir’s forces after the civil war broke out.
The escalating tensions in South Sudan raise concerns in Uganda that a full-blown war could trigger a refugee crisis and further destabilize the region. Kampala has also deployed troops across its eastern border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo in recent months, where rebel groups allegedly backed by Rwanda are battling the government for control of eastern regions.
Source: The EastAfrican
