South Sudan

Ahead of the March 2022 renewal of the mandate for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network (EPON) conducted an assessment focused on two core mandate areas: protection of civilians (PoC) and support for the peace process.

At least 24 people have been killed in the last few days following clashes between Messiraya nomads from Sudan and residents of Aweil East County of Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State of South Sudan, the state’s Information Minister confirmed on Wednesday.

South Sudan’s government wants millions of people who fled the country’s devastating civil war to return home ahead of national elections tentatively scheduled for 2023. But some humanitarians worry that returns could be risky, as violence continues to flare around the country despite a 2018 peace agreement and the subsequent formation of a unity government.

South Sudan has secured funds for the formation of the unified force paving the way for progress in the delayed implementation of the security arrangements.

South Sudan’s peace is facing a new challenge as an agreement on the electoral programme to end the current Unity government and usher in a democratically elected administration is delayed.

State security forces in South Sudan have been responsible for imposing new and potentially arbitrary restrictions against the country’s most prominent civil society leaders, issuing “credible” death threats that have undermined peace efforts, UN-appointed independent rights experts said on Wednesday. 

More than 18 months into a power-sharing government between South Sudan’s rival leaders, local conflicts still simmer, undermining a fragile peace accord. But in the northern flashpoint town of Malakal, a group of women peacemakers is trying to reverse that narrative by healing ethnic divisions to head off another bout of violence.

At least 36 people were killed in clashes between four communities in South Sudan over the weekend, according to Warrap state officials.

Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas to break up a demonstration in the capital Khartoum held in support of a civilian-led transition to democracy. An attempted coup last week, which officials blamed on soldiers loyal to the previous government of Omar al-Bashir, laid bare divisions between military and civilian groups sharing power during a transition that is meant to run to 2023 and lead to elections.

Authorities in Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to officially open their border crossings on October 1, a South Sudanese official disclosed. … The border between the two countries was closed in 2011 when relations deteriorated after South Sudan seceded.