The Guardian view on South Sudan: the world's youngest nation is on the brink of a new conflict | Editorial

A 2018 power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar put an end to five years of fighting.

But last week’s arrest of Mr Machar effectively ended that agreement, his party says.

The United Nations warns that his house arrest has brought a fragile peace closer to collapse.

The fear is not just of a battle between factions, but of ethnic cleansing and civilian massacres.