South Sudan

An Africa Union taskforce on restoring peace in South Sudan says broad political engagement with President Salva Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar is urgently needed to kick-start direct talks between the two leaders which is crucial in implementation of the revitalised agreement.

Eight years after independence, South Sudan still struggles to address media challenges. Independent journalists continue to fear for their freedom. Many choose to abandon either the country or their profession.

South Sudan’s army and several armed groups killed more than 100 civilians in a surge in violence in a southern region of the country after a peace deal was signed last year, a UN report said. The armed forces committed sexual violence including rape against around 100 women and girls in the same region, Central Equatoria, between September 2018 and April 2019, the report by the UN peacekeeping mission in the country found.

The UN said Wednesday that conflict had intensified in a region of South Sudan since a peace deal was signed, with hundreds of civilians raped or murdered by warring factions. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said civilians had been "deliberately and brutally targeted" in Central Equatoria since the agreement was inked in September. … UNMISS said overall there had been a "significant decrease" in violence across the country since Kiir and Machar signed the deal.

The peace dividend from last year’s ceasefire in South Sudan is palpable, but political elites need to follow the example set by local communities on the ground if lasting progress is to be achieved, said the top UN official in the country on Tuesday.

South Sudan's government is offering to mediate between Sudan's ruling military council and the opposition, in return for Sudan's role mediating South Sudanese peace talks last year. … Kiir expects to host talks between the Sudanese military and opposition in Juba in the coming days, [South Sudan presidential minister Mayiik] Deng told VOA.

The UN Security Council on Thursday extended for a year an arms embargo and sanctions on South Sudan despite resistance from African countries, Russia and China.

The South Sudan government has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to remove the sanctions against it. The world’s security body placed South Sudan in the sanctions list in 2015 following reports of gross human rights violations in the conflict that ravaged the country.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has concluded the week by harnessing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to support the nation, including by offering free medical services, encompassing SDG 3’s target on health coverage.