South Sudan’s Peace Deal Never Stood a Chance

In the middle of a hot, clear day on Aug. 21, roughly 2,000 people packed around the John Garang Mausoleum in downtown Juba to shout down the latest deal to end South Sudan’s nearly two-year-long war. Organized by the government, it was an event for true believers, those somehow insulated from the economic ravages of the war: young boys and girls in school uniform, men in suits, and women in colorful dresses. As a DJ sang over pre-recorded music blaring on massive speakers, praising South Sudan and its president, Salva Kiir, participants held large signs written in English declaring “one army, not two” and “no regime change through violence.”

Donor-Driven Technical Fixes Failed South Sudan: It’s Time to Get Political

What has gone wrong in South Sudan? As the country today marks the ninth anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended decades of conflict between southern insurgents and the government of Sudan and paved the way to independence, South Sudan is experiencing another wave of violence and conflict – this time within its own borders.

The South Sudanese flag flies at independence in 2011. Photograph by Arsenie Coseac.

Over the last few weeks we have seen what was ostensibly a political tussle for power in the world’s newest country descend into shocking violence, leaving over a thousand people dead and around 200,000 displaced. While commentators can argue about who or what is most at fault in this terrible turn of events, one fact is clear: the international community – the many regional and international players who have been supporting the transition in South Sudan − shoulders some of the responsibility.

In South Sudan, ethnic attacks spark fears of civil war

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to nearly double the number of peace­keepers in the world’s newest nation to more than 14,000 and urged swift action to end a violent political and ethnic conflict that threatens to become a full-blown civil war.

View Photo Gallery — South Sudan conflict leaves hundreds dead: Clashes in South Sudan are apparently pitting soldiers from President Salva Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe against those from ousted vice president Riek Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, raising concerns that the violence could degenerate into civil war.

Amid reports of mass graves, extrajudicial killings and rapes, tens of thousands of civilians have sought refuge in U.N. base camps that in some cases were described as under siege from ethnically motivated fighters. Hundreds of people, if not several thousand, have been killed, according to witnesses and U.N. officials.

Political Strife in South Sudan Sets Off Ethnic Violence

He sat among tens of thousands of terrified people crammed into the United Nations compound, most of them women and children, taking notes about their desperate rush to safety. Like them, he had come seeking protection.

Tony Karumba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Young men sat in a vehicle at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan compound in Juba as ethnic tensions remained high.

“They came to my house,” the man, Biel Boutros Biel, a human rights activist, said of the South Sudanese security forces. “I knew they were coming after me.”

Sudan, South Sudan keeping troops near border in violation of agreements, report says

A new report based on satellite imagery says Sudan and South Sudan are keeping troops in at least 14 locations within their contested border zone in violation of security agreements.

The actor George Clooney, a co-founder of the satellite project, said the imagery proves that both Sudan and South Sudan have troops “where they should not be.”

South Sudan proposes binding international arbitration to resolve border disputes with Sudan

A South Sudan official says the country’s president is going to propose the use of binding international arbitration to resolve a border dispute with Sudan.

Associated Press - President Salva Kiir, right, of South Sudan arrives at the National Palace with Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, left, of Ethiopia during talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Friday Jan. 4, 2013.The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan are meeting to try to break through stalled oil agreements.

Leaders from Sudan and South Sudan arrived in Ethiopia on Friday to revive stalled deals signed in September. The deals paved the way for South Sudan to restart oil exports through Sudan’s pipelines, but so far exports have not resumed.