South Sudan charges Vice President Machar with treason and murder over military attack

South Sudans First Vice President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity.The charges stem from his alleged involvement in attacks by a militia against federal forces in March, the justice minister announced on Thursday.South Sudans government claims the White Army, a loose band of armed youths, attacked a military base in Nasir, northeastern South Sudan, and killed more than 250 soldiers on Machars orders. Seven others, including the former minister of petroleum, were charged alongside Machar following investigations into a suspected rebellion plot. These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians and attacks on humanitarian workers, Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said.Machar and President Salva Kiir have long been rivals. Civil war broke out in oil-producing South Sudan in 2013, less than two years after the country gained independence from Sudan after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president, accusing him of plotting a coup. The conflict killed an estimated 400,000 people and forced roughly four million one-third of the population  from their homes before a 2018 peace deal saw the pair form a government of national unity.That power-sharing deal began unraveling earlier this year, when, in response to fighting since late February in the northeastern Upper Nile state, Kiirs government detained several officials from Machars party, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army.