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Thread: Tensions rise in South Sudan

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    Tensions rise in South Sudan

    It looks like some American military members were wounded when the aircraft they were flying in took enemy fire. They were on a mission to evacuate US citizens. Many other governments are evacuating their embassies from South Sudan.

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    The place is going to blow up into war. It's not the first and it won't be the last in the region. Many Third World countries are going through change and change often brings conflict.


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    Unhappy

    The promise of So. Sudan squandered...

    Once seen as White House triumph, new nation of South Sudan descends into war, misery
    April 18, 2016 - Just five years ago, celebrities such as George Clooney and Don Cheadle hailed the creation of a new African nation as one of President Obama’s foreign policy success stories, but now South Sudan is looking like a failed state.
    The nation, sought as a means of bringing peace to Sudan’s long-running civil war, was promoted as a potential U.S. ally and was formed following a referendum passed with 98 percent of the vote to secede from the northern part of Sudan and the Khartoum government. But hope has given way to desperation, as South Sudan has descended into bloodshed and chaos. “The euphoria has faded and South Sudan is an embarrassment for the administration, and that comes with reputational costs,” Joshua Meservey, policy analyst for Africa and the Middle East at The Heritage Foundation, told FoxNews.com. “Bringing attention to it is not in the White House’s interest.”


    George Clooney walks in front of St. Teresa's Cathedral during the independence referendum in Juba, South Sudan

    Meservey said the U.S.-backed solution was based on a “very superficial” grasp of the war between Sudan and South Sudan, and the deep divisions that existed in the nascent nation. “People ignored the warning signs and it was an exciting time framed as the liberation of the region,” he said. The civil war that rocked Sudan from 1983-2005 started in what is now South Sudan, and would eventually see more than 2 million people die as a direct result of war or of famine and disease related to the conflict. Twice as many people were displaced before a peace agreement was signed in 2005 and laid the groundwork for the creation of the new nation.

    With three-quarters of Sudan’s oil reserves in the newly formed country, the future looked bright for South Sudan. It was accepted as a United Nations member state, and expatriates flocked back to help build the country. But South Sudan plunged into civil war in late 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his then-deputy, Riek Machar, of plotting a coup. Machar denied the accusation, but quickly formed a rebel army.


    Helicopter of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon seen in February above Juba, South Sudan.

    The UN stepped in in an effort to head off a deadly and embarrassing civil war. Under the threat of sanctions, a peace deal was signed by both sides last August – intended to stop the fighting and targeting of civilians and bring about the formation of a transitional government. But in just the last eight months, thousands of people have since been slaughtered and driven from their homes – with the number of displaced now well over two million – into deteriorating and dangerous camps and settlements. “These aren’t refugee camps, they are military bases where they have to be under armed protection,” Casie Copeland, an Africa-based analyst focusing on South Sudan for the International Crisis Group, said. “They are afraid to leave, and are fearful for their lives every day.”

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    It looks like some American military members were wounded when the aircraft they were flying in took enemy fire. They were on a mission to evacuate US citizens. Many other governments are evacuating their embassies from South Sudan.
    Lets stop sending diplomats into hostile territory. If the diplomacy was working the territory would no longer be this hostile

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    Looks like we're finally smartening up and not playin' their silly-assed game anymore...

    US to Dial Back Peace Efforts in South Sudan
    April 25, 2016 - The United States is set to take a back seat in peace negotiations between the government of South Sudan and rebel leaders following failures on both sides to fulfill an agreement to form a transitional government.
    On Saturday, the government denied landing permission for a plane carrying opposition leader Riek Machar because the rebel leader made an “arbitrary demand” to bring with him more weapons and troops than the two sides had previously agreed upon, U.S. Department of State spokesman John Kirby said in a statement Sunday. “Given the actions by both sides to prevent or delay his return, it is now time for the parties to assume primary responsibility for facilitating the return of Riek Machar to Juba to form the [transitional government] and to demonstrate that they are genuinely committed to peace,” Kirby said.

    Moving forward, the scope of U.S. involvement in helping South Sudan confront security and economic issues will “depend on the parties demonstrating commitment to work together to implement the agreement,” he added. In August, South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal that would unite the two sides to run a national government with Machar serving as the vice president. He had previously served as vice president before Kiir accused him of plotting a coup in December 2013.


    South Sudanese rebel soldiers raise their weapons at a military camp in the capital Juba, South Sudan

    The accusations launched a civil war in the country that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than two million people from their homes. Machar fled the country when the war broke out, but was set to return April 18 after the two signed the peace deal. He missed that deadline and several more.

    Machar is now scheduled to return to Juba Monday - the third time in a week he has been scheduled to return - but U.S. special envoy to South Sudan Donald Booth warned that the country could face increased sanctions from the United Nations if the two sides do not fulfill their agreement. "They are definitely on notice," he said. "The entire world is expecting them to live up to their word and to implement the agreement that they signed last August." The U.N. Security Council will meet Tuesday to discuss the crisis and potential repercussions.

    http://www.voanews.com/content/us-to...n/3301154.html

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    `
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    Didn't Obama have a hand in destabilizing Sudan for his corporate friends? Obama Is Impeding Peace in South Sudan
    `

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    Red face

    So. Sudanese to be given money if they behave...

    US pledges $90m to South Sudan but warns of sanctions should peace fail
    Friday 29th April, 2016 - Arms embargo also a possibility if transitional government fails to deliver, says US envoy, as funds are promised for safe water, healthcare, food and shelter
    The US has promised almost $90m (£60m) of extra aid to South Sudan but warned its newly reconciled leaders that failure to engage properly with the peace process could result in sanctions or an arms embargo. Hopes that the country’s two-year-long civil war may finally be drawing to an end rose this week after the former vice-president, Riek Machar, returned to the capital, Juba, to resume his role in a transitional government of national unity led by his opponent, President Salva Kiir.

    South Sudan, which won independence from its northern neighbour in 2011, has been consumed by conflict since December 2013, when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup. The conflict split the country along broadly ethnic lines, pitting Kiir’s Dinka against Machar’s Nuer. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting, more than 2 million displaced, and some parts of the country brought to the brink of famine. The fighting has also been marked by widespread atrocities that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

    On Wednesday, the US – a key advocate of South Sudan’s independence which has provided an estimated $1.6bn of humanitarian assistance since December 2013, according to US State Department figures – announced more than $86m of additional aid. The new funding is earmarked to provide safe drinking water, emergency healthcare, food, shelter and training to the most vulnerable families and communities.

    But the US said it wanted to see a renewed commitment to the implementation of the peace agreement and a “fundamental shift” in the relationship with the humanitarian community. “Specifically, we expect the transitional government to adhere to core humanitarian principles and to change past policy and practice to ensure aid reaches those in need without regard to ethnic or political discrimination,” the US State Department said. “We furthermore expect the transitional government to take action to prevent the extortion, theft, and physical harm of aid workers. Leaders must also allow full freedom of movement for all civilians.”

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    Riek Machar returns to South Sudan, sworn in as first VP
    Thursday 28th April, 2016 – Rebel leader Riek Machar has reportedly returned to South Sudan and has been appointed Vice President.
    Reports have said that Machar was flown in on a United Nations aircraft from Gambella, Ethiopia. The rebel leader reportedly landed at Juba International Airport to flying doves and ecstatic crowds and was immediately led to the presidential palace to be sworn in as Vice President to President Salva Kiir.


    According to reports, the process is part of a peace deal that requires a two-year transitional government of ministers from both Ethiopia and South Sudan before the new elections. Reports added that the return of Machar is being looked at as a new chapter of peace in South Sudan’s violent history, and his appointment as Vice President is expected to bring under control the civil war that has killed thousands of people over the past two and a half years.

    Machar told reporters in a statement at the International Airport upon arrival that he was happy to be back, and that they “need to bring our people together so that they can unite, reconcile, heal the wounds, the mental wounds that they have.” U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, however, has reportedly expressed his doubts about the situation despite Machar’s return, and added that it was important to change the political and security scenarios within the country.

    http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/2...in-as-first-vp
    Last edited by waltky; 04-28-2016 at 10:55 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    It looks like some American military members were wounded when the aircraft they were flying in took enemy fire. They were on a mission to evacuate US citizens. Many other governments are evacuating their embassies from South Sudan.
    Finally a hell hole we are in for the right reasons , to get our people out. Of course they are a little low on the IQ and common sense scales to be there to begin with, but I agree with getting them out, our soldiers bringing them how and both groups staying the $#@! out of there. Also issue a travel warning to the effect of "hey, from now on if you are dumb enough to go to the Sudan you're on your own. No America lives will be risked to save you from your own stupidity."

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    Red face

    So. Sudan asking for funds to recover from civil war...

    International Funding Needed to Rescue South Sudan's Economy
    April 28, 2016 — Two and a half years of civil war have destroyed South Sudan’s economy. The country's leaders now say they need urgent international support to rebuild the country and restore peace.
    When South Sudan gained independence in 2011, its oil wealth made its government one of the richest in East Africa. But now, after more than two years of war, it is among the poorest. Fighting has cut oil production in half, while crude prices worldwide have collapsed. The South Sudanese pound has lost almost 90 percent of its value, and inflation is skyrocketing. President Salva Kiir and former rebel leader Riek Machar are meant to form a transitional government this week aimed at ending the war. But there is not enough money to keep the new government going.

    ‘Abnormal conditions’

    Professor Marial Awou, an economics professor at the University of Juba, says the new government will need direct budget support to stay afloat. "We are in extraordinary conditions, abnormal conditions. Under normal conditions you will leave the country to take care of its budget, but we are coming out of the war, we are settling people, we are setting up institutions, so it needs abnormal resources," Awou said.


    A tailor works in the bustling Konyo Konyo market in Juba, South Sudan

    Kiir and Machar are asking the international community, including the International Monetary Fund, to help with such resources. Whether budget support arrives depends partly on the decision of foreign donors like the United States, Britain, and Norway. Those three countries say they will support the transitional government, but they are wary of corruption and funds being used to fuel more fighting. In the last two years, South Sudan slashed its health and education budgets while spending massively on weapons. Doctors are on strike because they haven't been paid in months. Public clinics have no medicine.

    Big changes, controls needed

    British Ambassador to South Sudan Tim Morris said foreign donors need to see big changes in how the country's finances are managed. "If this country is to attract a substantive international package, it has to implement policies of reform, otherwise the IMF, the international financial community simply cannot engage," Morris said. Morris added there will be no lump sums of cash given, and any spending must be tightly controlled. He warned that for now, Britain will not support the military, South Sudan's largest employer, given human rights abuses during the war. Morris also cautioned that foreign nations are stretched insofar as how much money they can spend on South Sudan. "Funds are very limited globally. This is not just a question of a figure being identified and satisfied. It is a question of a process, and it will be a period of austerity and my prediction, I think all our predictions, is that the transitional government will have a difficult job in this," Morris said.

    Some optimism, some skepticism

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    Angry

    Clashes between supporters of President Salva Kiir and vice-president Riek Machar...

    South Sudan: Heavy gunfire erupts in capital Juba
    Sun, 10 Jul 2016 - Heavy gunfire erupts in South Sudan's capital Juba after several days of deadly clashes between government troops and former rebels.
    Residents in Juba fled as mortars and "heavy ground assault weaponry" were fired, the UN in Juba said. More than 100 people are reported to have been killed in recent clashes between supporters of President Salva Kiir and vice-president Riek Machar. A 2015 peace deal to end a 20-month civil war has failed to quell unrest. James Gatdet Dak, a spokesman for Mr Machar, blamed Friday's violence on government troops. "Our forces have been attacked at Jebel base. We hope it will not escalate," he told the AFP news agency.


    The violence is the first since Friday, when a half-hour gun battle with heavy weapons and artillery killed more than 100 people. Some estimates put the death toll at about 150. A South Sudanese journalist told the BBC that reporters counted at least 100 bodies, inside and outside the presidential palace's compound. Friday's exchanges were apparently sparked by a shootout between Mr Kiir's and Mr Machar's bodyguards. The two men met at the presidential palace on Friday.

    South Sudan, the world's newest country, marked its fifth anniversary of independence from neighbouring Sudan on Saturday in lockdown. The country is so short of money that no official anniversary events were planned. Tens of thousands died and millions were displaced in the civil war that split Sudan five years ago.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-36757699

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