Regional authorities warn that renewed fighting in parts of South Sudan presents a serious danger to humanitarian aid and stability, with at least 50,000 people already displaced by deadly attacks in the Upper Nile and Jonglei states bordering Ethiopia. Workneh Gebeyehu, head of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) NGO says it has suspended medical operations in the Pibor community of eastern South Sudan following a recent flare-up in communal violence. Fighting between armed Bor Dinka and Murle groups has escalated over the past 10 days with thousands of people fleeing their…
South Sudan’s leaders are moving forward on the path to peace but “the new government faces a daunting array of challenges that will test its unity,” said David Shearer, the United Nations representative, during updates delivered Wednesday to the UN Security Council. “Our actions can push South Sudan further towards…
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir announced on Friday that rival Riek Machar will again serve as vice president in a national unity government, just one day ahead of a deadline for establishing the agreement. Kiir read the decision to the nation days after he agreed to limit the number of…
The governments of Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States are urging South Sudanese leaders to move quickly to conclude their power-sharing peace agreement, ahead of a February 22 deadline. The troika nations said they stood in solidarity with the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that mediates the…
The South Sudanese vice president placed under sanctions by the United States government for human rights abuses insisted on Thursday that he has been wrongfully accused. The targeted sanctions against Taban Deng Gai were announced earlier this week by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury, and follow similar sanctions against five…
Tuesday was the target date for South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar to have formed a unified transitional government, but that’s been delayed for 100 days – and that decision is welcomed by the United Nations. UN Secretary General António Guterres, in a statement released through…
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says three of its aid workers were killed earlier this week in South Sudan, where they were assisting with Ebola health screenings in the border area with Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The three volunteers, two men and a woman, were caught in…
A delegation of the United Nations Security Council in South Sudan, meeting at the weekend with both President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar, warned that there are just three weeks left before a November 12 deadline to form their transitional unity government. The deal, brokered through the regional…
The timeline has been extended for South Sudan’s leaders to navigate their way to a transitional government, according to the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The IGAD ministers from East African member nations announced Thursday that they’ve approved a six-month extension beyond Sunday’s deadline, in keeping with the recommendations…
It’s less than a week until South Sudan plans a peace celebration in Juba with both President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar expected to attend. Yet there’s little to celebrate for thousands of civilians still fleeing violence, and there’s evidence that the latest “peace on paper” isn’t reaching…
A Nepalese peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was shot and wounded by a government soldier near the town of Yei at the weekend, raising questions over the country’s fragile new peace agreement. The convoy was travelling from the UN base in Yei to collect water,…
While some observers noted celebration in the streets of Juba following news of a South Sudan peace deal Sunday night, others are more cautiously optimistic on whether this power-sharing agreement will hold. Among them would be opposition leader Riek Machar himself, who acknowledged there was still much work to do…
The opposing factions in South Sudan’s civil war traded accusations on Saturday over violations of a ceasefire agreement that was supposed to be in force beginning at midnight. The spokesman for the SPLA IO said government forces working with militia groups launched an attack against the opposition in Wau state…
The long-awaited meeting between President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and his exiled rival, Riek Machar, appeared to go well on Wednesday but few details have yet been released about the substance of their talks. Kiir and Machar, the former vice president who broke away from the administration and formed the…