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South Sudan on brink of civil war
Observers say it is clear that the peace deal concluded last August between the two main factions in the young country is only holding “by a thread”
More than 300 people including many civilians and a Chinese peacekeeper are reported to have been killed in renewed fighting in South Sudan’s capital Juba, raising fears the country is returning to civil war.
The new clashes originally broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to president Salva Kiir and soldiers who support the vice-president, Riek Machar.
Observers say it is clear that the peace deal concluded last August between the two main factions in the young country is only holding “by a thread”.
After a lull on Saturday, when South Sudan was to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its independence from Sudan, the fighting flared again on Sunday and Monday, raising fears of a return to all-out civil war.
The UN security council urged both sides to end fighting and called for more peacekeepers after a meeting on Sunday.
The council’s 15 members demanded Kiir and Machar “genuinely commit themselves to the full and immediate implementation of the peace agreement, including the permanent ceasefire and redeployment of military forces from Juba”.
Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said earlier he was “shocked and appalled by the heavy fighting … in Juba” and called on Kiir and Machar to “do everything within their power to de-escalate the hostilities immediately”.
“This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process,” he said.
The agreement ended two years of hugely destructive civil conflict, which killed tens of thousands of people.
Aid workers have reported hearing heavy artillery as well as small-arms fire around Juba. Military helicopters have been seen in the air. The immediate cause of the violence was not clear on Sunday night.
South Sudan’s civil war was fought largely along ethnic lines with the president, a Dinka, and the vice-president, a Nuer, drawing support from their respective tribes. The two men have yet to integrate their forces – a key part of the peace deal.
