The National Salvation Front (NAS), a rebel group in South Sudan, has strongly criticized the government’s decision to detain and plan to try suspended First Vice President Riek Machar and seven other opposition leaders. NAS claims the move is politically driven and poses a danger to peace.

The opposition figures—including Machar, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol, and Deputy Army Chief General Gabriel Duop Lam—are accused by the government of treason, murder, and crimes against humanity in connection with a militia attack on a military base in Nasir County in March. The SPLM-IO, Machar’s party, rejects these charges as baseless and politically motivated, calling them a witch hunt.

Machar and some allies have been detained since March. In response, NAS has accused President Salva Kiir’s administration of using the courts to suppress dissent and weaken the peace process. They pointed to earlier events—such as a disputed coup plot in 2013—as evidence of ongoing political repression.

NAS also alleges that the trial is marked by selective and tribal justice, noting that other violent incidents—such as recent violence in Warrap State—were not similarly investigated.

The rebel group, which now has formed an alliance with SPLM-IO to push for President Kiir’s removal, is calling on the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, the European Union, and the regional bloc IGAD to demand that Machar and the other detainees be released unconditionally and that what NAS describes as a “sham trial” be stopped.

NAS reiterated its rejection of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), calling it flawed and saying it cannot bring sustainable peace.