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South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday removed Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel, who was expected to succeed him as the country’s leader.
This decision comes amid the breakdown of a delicate power-sharing agreement between Kiir and opposition figure Riek Machar in recent months, heightening concerns of a potential resurgence of civil war.
“I, Salva Kiir, do hereby relieve his excellency Benjamin Bol Mel from his position as the first vice-president,” according to a presidential decree read on the public broadcaster SSBC, which did not offer a reason for the decision.
Bol Mel, a businessman perceived as a financial backer of the regime, had advanced in his political career, being appointed as South Sudan’s second vice-president in February. He was also ousted from his role as the second-in-command of the presidential party in May, a position he held until Wednesday.
Despite being sanctioned by the United States in 2017 for corruption, many experts regarded him as the likely successor to the 74-year-old Kiir.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has struggled with years of instability and poverty despite its rich oil resources.
In September, Machar, Kiir’s long-time adversary, faced charges of treason and crimes against humanity related to his alleged involvement in an attack by an ethnic militia on a military base in March, which the government claimed resulted in over 250 soldier fatalities.
Having gained independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan quickly fell into a five-year civil war between Kiir’s and Machar’s supporters, leading to approximately 400,000 deaths.
A peace agreement in 2018 brought an end to the violence and established a unity government, but its leaders have consistently failed to conduct elections or unify their armed forces.
