JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan's First Vice President Riek Machar faces charges of treason and other serious crimes, local justice authorities said Thursday, as fears grow that the east African country could be edging toward a return to civil war.

Machar has been under house arrest since March after the transitional government he is a part of accused him of subversive activities against President Salva Kiir, who said on Thursday that he was suspending Machar as his deputy because of the criminal allegations.

Pro-government troops have been fighting militias and other armed groups that they say are loyal to Machar, who has served as his country’s No. 2 under the terms of a delicate peace deal signed in 2018.

That agreement has not been fully implemented, with presidential elections repe

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