South Sudan

[…] He spoke with Samir Ashraf, editor of the Global Observatory, on the state of the peace process in South Sudan, and the impact that the political transition in Sudan is having on its neighbor.

Hundreds of people have been killed in inter-communal violence raging in South Sudan’s Jonglei state in recent weeks […]. On Tuesday, President Salva Kiir issued a presidential decree forming a committee to resolve ongoing inter-communal violence involving the Dinka Bor, the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes in Greater Jonglei. In his decree, Kiir said he expects the panel to ensure that stability is restored in the area within the next 21 days.

South Sudan's president and his former rival have reached a deal on the selection of governors for the country's 10 states, an issue seen as the biggest threat to peace since a transitional unity government was formed in February.

The spread of COVID-19 in South Sudan has had a negative impact on the implementation of the peace process and has placed further stress on an already dire humanitarian situation.

A fresh wave of intercommunal fighting in South Sudan has killed and displaced "many people", a UN mission has said. Dozens of homes in Jonglei state were destroyed, warehouses belonging to aid groups were raided, and women and cattle were abducted.

The South Sudanese Government has confirmed that two cases of COVID-19 have been identified inside a Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in the capital, Juba, although the world’s youngest nation has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic, with 74 cases recorded so far.

South Sudan’s new violence this week could threaten a precarious peace agreement between the government and rebel groups that have yet to sign on a unity deal.

The South Sudan arms embargo ends on May 31 but investigations on the ongoing disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation reveal that it has been violated by arms companies since it was imposed in July 2018.

New fighting in South Sudan's Central Equatoria state this week is putting a strain on the country's fragile peace agreements. A spokesman for the rebel National Salvation Front (NAS) said a joint force composed of soldiers from the army and the former rebel SPLM-IO attacked NAS positions in Central Equatoria state beginning on Sunday.