South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over an attack on a military base that killed more than 250 soldiers, the country's justice minister said on Thursday.
In early March, an armed group from Machar's ethnic Nuer community known as the White Army attacked a military base in Nasir County, Upper Nile State in the northeast of the country.
The government says Machar was responsible and has now charged him and 20 others with murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property, and crimes against humanity.
"These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians, and attacks on humanitarian workers," Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said, according to a read-out provided to reporters in Juba.
Military base attack
The military base in Nasir was overrun by the White Army between March 3 and 7, 2025.
Several senior officers including a general died and a United Nations helicopter also came under fire while attempting to rescue soldiers at the base, leading to the death of a pilot.
"This case sends a clear message: those who commit atrocities against the people of South Sudan, against our armed forces, and against humanitarian personnel will be held accountable, no matter their position or political influence," the minister said in the statement.
The UN, which operates a major peace-building mission in South Sudan, said at the time that the country was "witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress."
House arrest
Machar was placed under house arrest a few weeks after the attack.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but a civil war broke out in 2013 following a fallout between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar.
The war, which killed around 400,000 people, ended with a power-sharing agreement in 2018. The country is yet to hold a general election, with the first planned for 2024 postponed to 2026.
