South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has appointed a member of his own party as defense minister. This appointment breaches a peace deal in which the role should be selected by the party of the First Vice President and opposition leader, Riek Machar. Defense Minister Angelina Teny was fired alongside the interior minister this month, causing more disagreements over how the two leaders share power.
In 2018, Kiir and Machar’s forces signed a peace agreement that ended a five year civil war that killed 400,000 people and triggered Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Implementation of the deal has been slow and bouts of fighting have continued in the country and have continued to displace a large number of civilians.
Read More: S Sudan president appoints defense minister, breaching peace deal
