U.S. wants U.N. to blacklist South Sudan’s Riek Machar

The United States wants the United Nations Security Council to blacklist former South Sudan’s first vice president Riek Machar.

Reuters reports the US to have circulated three names to the 15-member council in an annex, to draft a resolution that would place an arms embargo on South Sudan amid warnings by a senior UN official of possible genocide.

Machar was named alongside South Sudan army chief Paul Malong and South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei.
Machar fled the capital Juba in July following heavy fighting between forces loyal to him and those loyal to President Salva Kiir.

Kiir subsequently replaced him with Taban Deng-Gai as first vice president.
Machar was in Democratic Republic of Congo, then Sudan and was most recently in South Africa for medical treatment.

The annex to the draft text accused Machar of entering “into alliances with Equatorian rebel groups to work to overthrow the South Sudanese Government” and said “forces allied with Machar have raided villages and abducted civilians and aid workers.”