South Sudan First Vice President Riek Machar arrested

South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar, the long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, was arrested at his compound in Juba, according to a statement shared Wednesday by his party's foreign relations committee chairman.

"We strongly condemn the unconstitutional actions taken today by the Minister of Defense and the Chief of National Security, who, alongside more than 20 heavily armed vehicles, forcefully entered the residence of the First Vice President. His bodyguards were disarmed, and an arrest warrant was delivered to him under unclear charges," said the statement, shared on Facebook by Reath Muoch Tang. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said that the reported arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar left the country on the brink of war and called on all parties to "exercise restraint."

"Tonight, the country's leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement," said UNMISS head Nicholas Haysom in a statement. --AFP