Five years after Africa’s largest country, Sudan, split after a 22-year civil war, South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, is in turmoil. Only 3 years after their independence from the North, South Sudan is in the midst of another civil war.
Responsible for igniting the civil war are the two ethnic groups, the Nuer and Dinka tribes, that originally joined forces to fight for their independence from the North, turned their weapons on each other. After their Independence, the South Sudanese had elected President Salva Kiir, from the Dinka tribe, and Vice President Riek Machar, from the Nuer tribe. It was when Vice President Machar was removed from office the nation split, reigniting old violent battles amongst the two tribal groups.
Since the start of this civil war, the country’s people are suffering greatly. According to the Global Conflict Tracker, a tracker created by The Center for Preventive Action, “Armed groups, including the government’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), have committed widespread violence against civilians, especially women and children, humanitarian workers, and peacekeepers”. Despite several ceasefire attempts, the violence continues to rip through the country, resulting in elections being postponed to 2018, extending President Kiir’s term and causing more unrest within the country. .
What is in store for the young nation? With no indication of the situation getting better, the UN has tried to step in, however, have had little success. Upon speaking with elders from Sudan, I was introduced to a completely unpopular idea on how South Sudan can restore its country; by re-joining with North Sudan. This idea could seem optimistic to some, or a complete nightmare to others. But regardless of the over 55,000 deaths have occurred since December 2013, and ongoing chaos in the South, I do not see South Sudan rejoining with the North anytime soon or ever.
Despite the once high tensions amongst the North and South, efforts have been made to improve relations. And despite the theoretical benefits of the two re-joining, such as alleviating the tensions amongst the Dinka and Nuer tribes and possibly ending the civil war, the South will remain independent. The main issue and cause for the initial split was that the South Sudanese disagreed with the harsh implementation of Sharia Law, a legal system based on Islam, as most were indigenous or practiced Christianity. For the South to re-join, the North would have to completely change its leader, Omar Al-Bashir, and its government, which the North aren’t planning on doing anytime soon. Furthermore, the South Sudanese people have tasted the freedom of being their own country and are no longer treated as “second-class citizens in their own country, ” so if a civil war is what they have to pay for this, they will fight on.
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