The recently formed country of South Sudan gained independence in 2011 and was admitted to the United Nations as the 193rd member. The country since then has been facing infighting in the country. On Sunday the 15th of December fighting broke out between two groups of rival soldiers within the capital city Juba and left hundreds dead and injured. Fighting continued into the Monday morning. The South Sudanese, President Salva Kiir declared a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am in Juba. The President has said the fight was started by soldiers who are loyal to Riek Machar the former Vice President before he was dismissed by Kiir in July. Kiir and Machar are political rivals as Kiir has accused Machar of starting a coup. Kiir and Machar come from rival ethnic groups, Kiir is a Dinka, while Machar is a Nuer.
Machar has stated that he did not order the attack in Juba and he said that the current president was “inciting tribal and ethnic violence” and that he should resign, according to the BBC. The Dinka and Nuer have a long history of fighting each other and it is believed this rivalry is being manipulated by different factions to gain more power.
The tension and fighting has escalated since the fighting outbreak in Juba. On Sunday December 22nd, Bentiu, the oil producing capital of South Sudan in Unity a state in South Sudan was taken under the control of a military commander who is loyal to Machar. Bor, the capital city of Jonglei a state in South Sudan, is also the scene of fighting between government troops and those loyal to Machar. Machar Loyalist are also said to have gain control of oilfields in Unity, which would affect the economy of South Sudan, because 99% of the country's budget comes from the oil it produces.
The UN has plans to help to diffuse and clam the situation, as South Sudan is the newest member of the UN. UN already was heavily involved in South Sudan. During the Juba fight, 20,000 civilians took shelter and continue to stay in UN bases. The US, UK and many other countries have evacuated their citizens and other nationals out of South Sudan. US and UN aircraft have come under small arms fire while evacuating foriegn citizens and staff. UN peacekeeping forces are being moved from the Congo and into South Sudan in order to aid with the situation.
It will be interesting how the situation will last and how involved UN forces will be in South Sudan as the violence continues.
Sources
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