Ex-Vice President Machar denies Juba “Coup Attempt”
The BBC cited Machar as saying he was not involved in any coup on Sunday night. Instead he blamed Sunday’s violence on a misunderstanding between the presidential guards.
The incident touched off three days of clashes in Juba and beyond, killing up to 500 people and injuring hundreds more, according to the United Nations.
Someone wanted to frame me. I had to flee. They are hunting me down.”
Machar, who had voiced presidential aspirations before being ousted from his role as Vice President, said President Salva Kiir’s allegations were a cover up for a purge of his political rivals.
On Tuesday, the government arrested 10 former ministers in connection with the extended fighting. Officials want to arrest Machar and other former party figures who were ousted from their jobs in a surprise reshuffle in July.
It is unknown where Machar is but he told the BBC he will not leave South Sudan.
Someone wanted to frame me,” he told the BBC. I had to flee. They are hunting me down.”
Dressed in full military attire, Kiir accused Machar of orchestrating Sunday’s attack in a press conference on Monday. He described his political rival as a prophet of doom [who] continues to persistently pursue his actions of the past,” referring to Machar’s decision to split from the rebels in 1991, sparking a high death toll.
Video footage of people seeking refuge at the UNMISS Thong Ping compound in Juba, December 17.
Amid fears that rampaging violence is out of control, up to 20,000 citizens fled to the United Nations compounds in Juba.
Hospitals, meanwhile, are unable to treat the hundreds of injured people needing help.
The underlying trigger for the widespread fighting remains murky. Many blame ethnic divisions as Kiir and Machar are from different groups that have clashed in the past.
Other observers, however, say it reflects an underlying power struggle.
Addressing thousands of people from the Nuer ethnic group seeking refuge at the UN compounds in Juba, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said: This fighting has no ethnic dimension.” He urged them to return to their homes.
