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The current situation in the Sudans (North and South)


Civilians flee fighting at a United Nations base in South Sudan.
Civilians flee fighting at a United Nations base in South Sudan. (TRT WORLD)

Politicians are supposed to be implementing a peace deal in South Sudan's capital city, Juba, which saw bitter rivals join forces in a new unity government a year ago. Five years of the civil war were supposed to be over, costing nearly 400,000 lives. The civil war began in South Sudan in 2013, only two years after the country gained independence from Sudan (North). The current peace agreement is the second between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Vice-President Riek Machar. Agreements continue to fail.


Civil War. Atrocities and massacres along ethnic lines. (World Bulletin)

In February 2020, after a decrease in local violence during the civil war, attacks involving hundreds of well-armed young men escalated when Kiir and Machar began sharing power in Juba. Although battles between forces loyal to the two have decreased over the past year, in places like Pibor and Jonglei, the national political settlement has done little to minimize localized violence. For decades, inter-ethnic cattle raiding in the area has been a part of life, but attacks in recent years have become increasingly aggressive as political leaders have channeled weapons to community militias to fight on their behalf. Residents say the devastating impact of a new wave of violence has cost tens of thousands to be displaced, an unknown number of children taken from their parents, and many women sexually assaulted.


Flooding, the worst in decades, has exacerbated the crises.

In Pibor and Jonglei, and other parts of the country, too, crops and cultivated farmland were submerged starting in July 2020, exposing people to malaria, waterborne diseases, and deadly snakebites.

Children cross flood waters to to gather food in Thonyor, South Sudan. (Siegfried Modola/Reuters)

The combination of fighting and flooding has left untold numbers facing extreme famine, and more than 30,000 people are suffering "possible famine" in Jonglei and Pibor alone. In Lekuangole, between February and November 2020, seven mothers reported that 13 of their children starved to death.


While some aid groups have spoken openly about malnutrition conditions, many choose their words carefully in fear of retaliation from South Sudan's government, which has declined to accept the "likely famine" findings.


Meanwhile, in Sudan (North), Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, appointed after a military-civilian power-sharing deal following Omar al-Bashir's overthrow in 2019, dissolved the Cabinet on Sunday and announced ministerial appointments on Monday (Feb. 8th). Handok struggles to ease the economic crisis and bolster the transition to democracy. The reshuffle of Cabinet follows an October peace deal signed with some rebel groups. It aims is to end conflicts in Darfur and lower Sudan, posting the groups within transitional institutions.


 

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Thomas, Director of Communications for Mercy Partners

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...

Over the years, Thomas Kilian III has served Mercy Partners in various volunteer capacities, from managing life-giving projects and interning, to serving as Staff Assistant, Administrative Assistant, and Advisor. Thomas has personal relationships with our Global Partners, having previously volunteered, traveling to most of our mission points. His last return to the mission field (Uganda and Netherlands) was in September of 2018. He is degreed with a Bachelors of Science in the school professional studies, with high honor, majoring in biblical studies, general ministries, and biblical exposition. In 2018, he was ordained as an Evangelist by a church of the Restoration Movement. He can be seen at local food banks and preaching rivals at churches abroad.

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