South Sudan President Salva Kiir has fired two top security ministers, abandoning the terms of a peace agreement with opposition party leader and First Vice President Riek Machar.
Mr Kiir fired Defence Minister Angelina Teny, who is also Mr Machar's wife, and Interior Minister Mahmoud Solomon in a presidential order read out on state TV late on Friday, Lily Martin Manyiel, the President's spokeswoman said on Saturday.
"There is no reason I can give you right now" for their sacking but "it's a normal procedure usually", Ms Manyiel said.
She said no decision had been made on the ministers' replacements.
Mr Kiir and Mr Machar's forces signed a peace agreement in 2018 after five years of civil war that killed 400,000 people and sparked Africa's biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Implementation of the deal, known as the Revitalised Peace Agreement for South Sudan, has been slow and the opposing forces have clashed frequently over disagreements about how to share power.
In Friday's decree, Mr Kiir handed the defence ministry to his party, a role which, under the terms of the agreement, is meant to be filled by Mr Machar's party.
In exchange, the President gave Mr Machar's party the interior ministry.
The swap "is unilateral and a new cycle of violating the revitalised agreement", said Puok Both Baluang, Mr Machar's spokesman.
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Pope Francis waves as he arrives for holy mass at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan. AFP -
Members of the choir sing. AFP -
A scarf bearing the faces of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, left, and Pope Francis. AFP -
A child plays with a rosary as people wait for the Pope's arrival. Reuters -
People wait for the mass. Reuters -
A worshipper waits for the Pope to lead mass. Reuters -
Pope Francis waves as he leaves a meeting with internally displaced people at Freedom Hall. AP -
Pope Francis receives a gift. AFP -
Pope Francis addresses a gathering at the Presidential Palace in Juba. Reuters -
Pope Francis attends a meeting with authorities, leaders of civil society and the diplomatic corps, in the garden of the Presidential Palace. Reuters -
Traditional dancers welcome Pope Francis at the Juba International Airport. AFP -
Pope Francis receives a bouquet of flowers from a child. AFP -
A nun in the crowd shouts that the country needs peace as Pope Francis prepares to leave in his vehicle from the airport. AP -
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit receives Pope Francis. Reuters -
From left, on red carpet, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Pope Francis, President Kiir and Iain Greenshields of the Church of Scotland at the Presidential Palace, in Juba. AFP -
The pontiff waves as he leaves in his vehicle past crowds gathered at the entrance to the airport. AP -
Traditional dancers prepare to welcome the Pope. Reuters -
Security officers clear the way as Pope Francis's convoy leaves the airport. Reuters -
Pope Francis is welcomed by President Salva Kiir, second from right, on arrival at Juba airport, South Sudan. AP Photo -
Pope Francis is on a three-day visit to South Sudan, a country riven by the scars of civil war and extreme poverty. AFP -
Honour guards at the welcome ceremony for Pope Francis in Juba, South Sudan. Reuters -
A sea of raised hands welcomes Pope Francis to South Sudan. Reuters -
The pontiff's South Sudan visit is the second leg of a six-day trip that started in Congo. AP Photo -
Pope Francis arrives at Juba International Airport. AFP -
The faithful celebrate Pope Francis's arrival. Reuters -
The plane carrying Pope Francis arrives in Juba for the second and final leg of the pontiff's African pilgrimage. Reuters -
Nuns await the arrival of Pope Francis in Juba. AP -
The visit to South Sudan is the first by a pope since the predominantly Christian nation gained independence from Sudan in 2011. AFP -
Pope Francis is escorted to the plane when leaving Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. AFP -
A military waits to perform as Pope Francis and his delegation departs the DRC. AFP -
Pope Francis greets well-wishers before meeting bishops in Kinshasa. AP Photo -
Pope Francis meets Roman Catholic bishops of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, in Kinshasa. Reuters -
Pope Francis waves as he departs for South Sudan from Kinshasa. AP Photo -
This is the pontiff's fifth trip to Africa. EPA -
Pope Francis's visit set out to bring comfort and encouragement to two countries riven by poverty and conflict. AP Photo -
Pope Francis arrives for a meeting with bishops at the National Episcopal Conference of Congo in Kinshasa. AFP -
Pope Francis at a prayer meeting with priests, deacons, consecrated persons and seminarians at Notre Dame Du Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa. EPA
During a visit to South Sudan last month, Pope Francis implored the country's warring leaders to turn their backs on the violence, ethnic hatred and corruption that have stopped the world's youngest country from achieving peace and prosperity.
Edmond Yakani, a leading civil rights activist and a signatory of the peace agreement, said in a statement that he urged the presidency to explain "why there is an exchange of information that demonstrates the violation of the peace agreement".
