South Sudan on Brink of Civil War
Tuesday, December 24th, 2013December 24, 2013
The United Nations (UN) reported today that civilians in South Sudan are living in “palpable fear” that they will be killed for their ethnicity as mass graves are being uncovered. The fighting erupted in Juba, the capital, last week and has spread throughout the country. It is being fueled by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, and the former vice president, Riek Machar, of the Nuer ethnic group.
Clashes between Dinka and Nuer factions within the South Sudanese army broke out on December 18 in Juba, in what the government characterized as a coup (overthrow) attempt. President Kiir blamed the violence on Machar, whom Kiir dismissed as vice president in July. After being removed from office, Machar accused Kiir of making himself a dictator.
On December 21, Nuer rebels fired upon three U.S. military aircraft, injuring four U.S. troops, as the aircraft approached the South Sudanese town of Bor to rescue American citizens. Bor, the capital of the central state of Jonglei, was seized earlier in the week by rebels led by Machar. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that the Army’s tilt-rotor CV aircraft were forced to divert to Entebbe, Uganda.
In communication with the BBC, Machar claims that his forces now control much of the country, including the town of Bor and the key oil-producing state of Unity. (Oil accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan’s economy.) President Kiir’s army troops are currently massing outside Bor in preparation for a counter-attack. Kiir has informed members of the South Sudanese parliament that the army is “ready to move,” but the attack is being delayed to allow U.S. citizens to be airlifted out.
UN officials fear that the ethnic violence in South Sudan could dissolve into a full-blown civil war. Sudan underwent a 22-year civil war between Muslims in northern Sudan and tribal groups in the South that left more than 1 million people dead before the South achieved independence in 2011. The latest violence has already left hundreds dead and displaced an estimated 80,000 people, many of whom are seeking shelter at UN bases.
Additional World Book articles:
- Sudan 2011 (a Back in Time article)
- Sudan 2012 (a Back in Time article)