JUBA: South Sudan’s peacebuilding minister was arrested on Thursday, the latest in a series of detentions targeting leaders allied with First Vice President Riek Machar. “The National Security Service (NSS) has struck again, arresting Hon. Stephen Par Kuol, Minister of Peacebuilding and Secretary General of the National Transitional Committee (NTC), from his office a few minutes ago,” Machar’s press secretary Puok Both Baluang wrote on Facebook. Kuol’s arrest follows that of the oil minister and deputy head of the army, also allies of Machar and senior members of his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) party, in the last two days. The arrests have raised concerns about destabilising the fragile peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and Machar. South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, ended a five-year civil war in 2018 with a power-sharing agreement between the two bitter rivals. Growing tensions have threatened to undo their unity government, particularly violent clashes in the northeastern Upper Nile State, where the government says there are ongoing clashes between the army and rebels backed by Machar’s forces. The United Nations has warned of increasing clashes in Upper Nile State involving the use of “heavy weaponry” and multiple deaths. Regional countries and Western embassies issued joint statements on Wednesday, calling for fighting to end. “Juba-based leaders must demonstrate their commitment to peaceful dialogue and should put the interest of the South Sudanese people first,” said the embassies, which included the United States, Britain and the European Union. There has also been criticism of political moves by Kiir, described by analysts as attempts to consolidate his position and sideline Machar. Last month, Kiir fired two of the five vice presidents in his unity government without consulting other stakeholders, and removed the governor of Western Equatoria State, a member of Machar’s movement.

PARIS: France Thursday saluted an Arab plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority, adding Islamist militant group Hamas should be “entirely” excluded from running it. The proposal that Arab leaders endorsed on Tuesday “constitutes a serious and credible basis to respond to reconstruction, governance and security needs after the Gaza war,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said. But “the plan must entirely exclude Hamas from governing Gaza, where it must be disarmed and give Israel serious security guarantees.”

LONDON: Britain on Thursday removed 24 Syrian entities from its sanctions list and unfroze their assets, including the Central Bank of Syria, other banks and petroleum companies. The West is rethinking its approach to Syria after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham ousted Bashar Assad as president in December. Last month, European Union countries suspended a range of sanctions against Syria. Britain’s foreign office did not give further details on the lifting of the sanctions and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Syrian government media official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.