South Sudan's president fires deputy Bol, who was seen as possible successor

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JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan ’s president has dismissed Vice President Benjamin Bol, who had been considered a prospective successor, without explanation after growing concerns about renewed violence in the country.

President Salva Kiir’s decision to remove Bol was announced in a decree on state television on Wednesday night. Calls to Bol's spokesperson were unanswered.

Bol was a close business associate of Kiir and had been sanctioned by the United States for corruption. His dismissal is expected to reignite tension in the capital, Juba.

There had been speculation of tension in the ruling party after the number of Bol’s bodyguards was reduced earlier Wednesday, but his office dismissed it as “unfounded rumors.” Bol was also removed as first deputy chairman of the ruling party, a position he received in May, which had demonstrated his growing influence.

Wednesday night's decree also said his military rank was reduced to that of a private.

South Sudan's most prominent vice president, Riek Machar, is currently suspended and facing treason charges after an outburst of deadly violence earlier this year between fighters loyal to him and military forces.

That and other violence linked to the long rivalry between South Sudan's president and Machar led to warnings of a return to civil war in one of the world's poorest nations.

On Tuesday, United Nations peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the U.N. Security Council that the crisis in South Sudan was escalating and “a breaking point” was visible.

Lacroix said “time is running dangerously short” and urgent action is needed to bring the peace process back on track.

A peace agreement was signed in 2018 after five years of civil war that broke out two years after oil-rich South Sudan's independence from Sudan. The deal's implementation has been slow and a presidential election has long been delayed, leading to renewed violence.

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Associated Press journalist Edith M. Lederer contributed from New York.