A South Sudanese opposition MP on Sunday accused President Salva Kiir’s government of planning a “genocide” against the Nuer community, the ethnic group of his rival Riek Machar.
The accusation stems from the government’s classification of nine out of sixteen Nuer homelands as “hostile,” implying alignment with Machar, who was arrested in March.
Reath Muoch Tang, a Nuer MP and top official in Machar’s party, condemned this designation as “reckless and malicious,” asserting it constitutes “a mapping for genocide.”
He believes it’s a deliberate attempt to justify collective punishment and incite violence against the Nuer people.
Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, acting chairman of Machar’s party, referenced a 2014 African Union report detailing the targeting and killing of Nuer men during past conflict.
He warned against the continuation of “ethnic and tribal profiling” and stated the party is considering filing charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Recent clashes around Nasir County, a Nuer homeland now labeled “hostile,” have contributed to the unraveling of the fragile 2018 power-sharing agreement between Kiir and Machar, which ended a civil war that killed an estimated 400,000 people.
The government accuses Machar’s forces and the Nuer “White Army” of fomenting unrest.
Since March, violence has killed at least 200 people and displaced around 125,000, according to the UN.