East African bloc urges South Sudan to free arrested officials
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit arrives for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) 42nd Extraordinary Session, at the State House in Entebbe, Uganda January 18, 2024.
A bloc of East African nations on Wednesday called for South Sudan's government to release detained officials and lift security restrictions as part of efforts to prevent recent mounting factional tensions from erupting into renewed war.
South Sudan has formally been at peace since a 2018 peace deal ended a five-year civil war that pitted forces loyal to President Salva Kiir against those of First Vice President Riek Machar and killed nearly 400,000 people.
