Coup Atlas Research Database
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62602292024ConspiracyDissident coup

South Sudan, 2024 — dissident coup conspiracy

South Sudan (SSD)East Africa, AfricaFebruary 29, 2024

Event Summary

This entry is coded 29 February 2024 in South Sudan and falls within a documented climate of recurring coup rumours, purges, and mass arrests around President Salva Kiir Mayardit, though no discrete coup plot precisely on that date is confirmed in the sources located for this entry. South Sudan has been marked by coup allegations since independence: in December 2013 Kiir accused forces loyal to his rival Riek Machar of launching a coup, triggering a civil war, and in November 2023 Kiir dismissed the police chief amid social-media coup rumours, with about 27 people from the National Security Service and the army reportedly detained. The 29 February 2024 coding sits amid this ongoing instability, which later deepened into a multi-phase purge from October 2024 onward, when Kiir removed powerful figures including the intelligence chief and vice presidents, placed Machar under house arrest on subversion charges in 2025, and effectively unravelled the 2018 peace agreement.

The coding is best understood against this recurring coup-plot and purge climate rather than a single confirmed plot on the day.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Kiir's government repeatedly framed rivals and unrest as coup threats in this era
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Salva Kiir Mayardit (target of the era's alleged plots)
rival Riek Machar (accused in 2013 and 2025)
detained security and army officers

Sources

On 15 November 2023 President Salva Kiir dismissed the country's police chief following rumours of a coup plot on social media, with the plot allegedly involving officers from the National Security Service and the South Sudan People's Defense Forces, and 27 individuals linked to the alleged plot apprehended.
SOURCE REVIEWED RANE/Stratfor: Coup Rumors in South Sudan Highlight Continued Risk of Political Instability open source ↗
In December 2013 President Kiir said an attempted coup had been launched by supporters of former vice president Riek Machar, and authorities arrested 10 senior political figures, in an episode that triggered South Sudan's civil war.
SOURCE REVIEWED CSIS: A Coup in South Sudan? open source ↗
Since October 2024 Kiir staged a multi-phase campaign to purge powerful figures from his regime, including top security officials and vice presidents, arrested Machar's allies, and put Machar under house arrest in Juba in 2025 on charges he denies, in what the International Crisis Group described as pushing the country closer to renewed conflict.
SOURCE REVIEWED International Crisis Group: A Trial for South Sudan's Frail Peace open source ↗

Editorial Note

CONTEXT: no discrete coup plot precisely dated 29 Feb 2024 was confirmed in the sources located this session. Framed from the documented recurring coup-plot and purge climate around President Kiir (the Nov 2023 plot rumour with ~27 arrested; the Dec 2013 alleged Machar coup; the 2024-2025 purges). First South Sudan record in the run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
62602292024

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Kiir's government repeatedly framed rivals and unrest as coup threats in this era.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

KSL News Radio

“A Utahn is Charged with Trying to Illegally Export Arms for Coup in South Sudan,” March 8, 2024

Reuters

“US Charges Prominent South Sudan Economist with Gun Running Scheme,” March 6, 2024

Semafor

“Top U.S. South Sudan Activist Arrested for Gun Running,” March 5, 2024 Soviet Union

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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