South Sudan's main opposition party in crisis after government minister named as interim chairman

South Sudan's opposition movement is deeply divided.

Following the arrest of longtime leader Riek Machar, the political branch of the movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), declared Stephen Kuol Par interim party chairman on Wednesday.

Par was minister for peacebuilding in the South Sudanese government, although he was suspended from his function and his own party following the nomination as interim chair by the SPLM-IO.

The decision to replace Machar, who is under house arrest since end of March, at the helm of the opposition was firmly contested by the armed branch of the movement (SPLA-IO), mostly loyal to Machar.

Some members of the SPLM-IO also loyal to their arrested leader reportedly skipped the meeting.

Riek Machar was detained two weeks ago, after South Sudan's president Salva Kiir had accused him of instigating an outbreak of deadly violence against government forces in the north of the country.

According to some analysts, the troubles in the main opposition party could further threaten the fragile peace the country has lived in since 2018, when a peace agreement ended five years of civil war.

South Sudan has been slow to implement its peace process and has never held a presidential election.

Its transitional period has been extended four times since 2018.

After the most recent episode of fighting and notorious political instability, experts have warned that South Sudan could once again be on the brink of civil war.