Tuesday, 31 March 2026 | Author – Alex Onyango | Nairobi-Kenya | File photo| GT-News |
JUBA — The United States has called on South Sudan’s transitional government to create the necessary conditions for peaceful and credible elections, warning that any U.S. support will hinge on specific reforms.
This followed the meeting between the U.S. Ambassador, Michael J. Adler, and the Senior Presidential Advisor, Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk, in Juba on Tuesday, 31 March 2026.
In a statement extended to this news outlet, the U.S. diplomat said elections must promote sustainable peace and that genuine interparty dialogue should begin immediately. “It is impossible to accept that there is interparty dialogue while the head of the second-largest party to the 2018 peace agreement remains under arrest and on trial,” the statement said.
The U.S. also urged the government to fund the elections using its own public resources.
Ambassador Adler stressed that any assistance from the United States, including through the United Nations, will depend on whether these conditions are met.
The United States remains the largest donor to the people of South Sudan, supporting the education, humanitarian, and healthcare facilities.
South Sudan’s First Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity in a move that triggers renewed conflict in the northern Jonglei, Upper Nile, and parts of the Equatoria region.
Seven others have been charged alongside Machar, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol and Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt Gen Gabriel Duop Lam.
They are all Machar allies who were arrested at the same time as him and have also been in detention ever since. Another 13 suspects remain at large, according to the government.
