House arrest of South Sudan ex-army chief 'ends'

Former Chief of Staff Gen. Paul Malong has been released from house arrest after being confined for five months in capital Juba, according to his wife on Friday.

"President [Salva] Kiir sent a delegation of elders to my husband to inform him about his release," Lucy Ayak told Anadolu Agency.

Ayak said her husband had been detained by "war mongers" who want to derail the peace process and take the country back to chaos.

"There is no official document signed about his release but the government is working on that," she said.

Malong led Kiir's campaign against rebels aligned with his sacked deputy Riek Machar since 2014 and was put under house arrest on allegations that he might leave Juba and launch a rebellion against the government.

Following his dismissal, Malong fled the capital Juba with a convoy of vehicles and hundreds of soldiers loyal to him for his home state of Aweil where he was once a governor, raising fears he might join opposition forces, before returning to the capital.

Presidential spokesman declined to comment on reports of his release.

"I am not informed about the decision. Maybe I will be made aware by the concerned authorities regarding his release," he said.

- GENERAL'S INFLUENCE IN ARMY
James Okuk, senior professor of political science at the University of Juba, said Malong continues to have huge influence in the military and his continued detention could place the country into further instability.

"Of course, the government is well aware that the current make-up of the SPLA-soldiers was done by Gen. Malong; 1 in every 5 soldiers was either recruited by him or hail from his home town of Awiel," Okuk, said.

However, the political analyst downplayed Malong release as a threat to the country fragile peace and stability since the general was under the United States Treasury Department's sanction list.

"There is regional isolation against South Sudanese warlords and sanctions placed against Malong by U.S. so for him to rebel and wage [war] is not significant," he said.

Various media outlets last week indicated that a senior commander in the army who is allied with Malong defected with the aim of launching a rebellion and this led to deployment of dozens of tanks and heavy forces around his house leading tension in Juba.

South Sudan slide into chaos into 2013 when Kiir accused his sacked deputy Machar of plotting a coup. The peace deal and power sharing agreement giving Machar his old post of vice president was reached but another fighting broke out between Kiir's troops and soldiers loyal to Machar last July, dashing hopes of a power-sharing government between the two men.

Malong is widely regarded by some as being the mastermind of fighting which has killed hundreds and displaced thousands of people.

The conflict characterized by atrocities and human rights abuses left tens of thousands dead and displaced nearly 4 million to neighboring countries, including 1.2 million people at the risk of starvation and 5 million others facing acute food security.