S.Sudan vice president charged with murder, crimes against humanity: justice minister

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN - South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over an attack on a military base that killed more than 250 soldiers, the justice minister said Thursday.

The charges relate to an attack in March by a militia known as the White Army, which the government claims was acting under the orders of Machar.

He has been under house arrest for months as part of a power struggle with his long-time rival, President Salva Kiir.

"These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians, and attacks on humanitarian workers," Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said, according to a read-out provided to reporters in Juba.

The military base in Nasir, in northeastern South Sudan, was overrun by the so-called White Army, which refers to a loose band of armed youths from the same ethnic Nuer community as Machar, between March 3 and 7.

It was known that several senior officers, including a general, died in the attack, but the government had not previously stated that more than 250 soldiers were killed.

A United Nations helicopter also came under fire while attempting to rescue soldiers at the base, leading to the death of a pilot.