A South Sudan opposition lawmaker on Sunday accused President Salva Kiir’s government of orchestrating a potential "genocide" against the Nuer community, loyal to rival Riek Machar, by labeling their homelands as "hostile."
Months of violent clashes between Kiir’s forces and those loyal to Machar, who was arrested in March, have raised fears of a return to civil war in the world’s youngest nation.
Kiir’s allies have blamed Machar’s forces for threatening the peace deal by stoking unrest in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, alongside the White Army, a militia of armed ethnic Nuer youths in the region.
"The Nuer ethnic group, one of the largest in South Sudan, played a significant role in the liberation struggle," read a government statement.
"The community spans 16 counties... of which nine are considered hostile," meaning aligned with Machar's party, the statement added.
Nasir County was among those considered hostile.
That designation was "reckless and malicious," said Reath Muoch Tang, a deputy and top official in Machar's party who is Nuer himself.
"This dangerous labeling... this sinister plan constitutes nothing short of a map for genocide against the Nuer community," Tang said in a statement published on Facebook.
"It is a deliberate and calculated attempt to justify collective punishment, instigate violence, and destroy an entire society under the false cover of security measures."
In a statement, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, acting chairman of Machar's party, cited a 2014 African Union report that found that "male Nuers were targeted, identified, killed on the spot or gathered in one place and killed" at roadblocks, checkpoints, and house-to-house searches.
"We warn and strongly condemn this perpetuation of state policy and of ethnic and tribal profiling, targeting, and cleansing," said Pierino.
He said the party was taking steps toward filing charges of crimes against humanity and genocide, among other offenses, at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Clashes around Nasir contributed to the unraveling of Kiir and Machar's fragile 2018 power-sharing agreement, which had ended a civil war that killed around 400,000 people.
Some 6,000 White Army fighters are estimated to have stormed a military camp in Nasir in early March, with a top-ranking general among the victims.
The government said the attack killed 400 members of the armed forces and has said it has since retaken the city, as well as Ulang, nearly a week ago, with the support of Ugandan forces.
Since March, the violence has led to the deaths of at least 200 people across several South Sudan states and displaced around 125,000 others, according to the United Nations.
South Sudan has been plagued by instability since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.
Between 2013 and 2018, the fighting pitted the supporters of Machar against those of Kiir, who is from the Dinka ethnic group.
The Dinka and Nuer communities are the two largest groups in ethnically diverse South Sudan.
The president has moved to sideline Machar, who was placed under house arrest.
On Saturday, the South Sudanese government also discussed a "plan of action" to restore the peace agreement.
It suggested that it could choose which of the divided opposition factions is legitimate, potentially paving the way for Machar’s ousting, according to South Sudanese media.
Pierino, Machar’s ally, warned that "any attempt to change the structure" of the transitional government, "or replace the appointments therein... shall be rejected and resisted by all means at our disposal."
