South Sudan woes

1/28/2016 5:05:53 PM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The war-torn country has missed the January 22 deadline to form a unity government.

South Sudan has missed another golden opportunity for peace. The warring factions in the country missed a January 22 deadline for forming a transitional government after the rebels rejected President Salva Kiir’s creation of new regional states. Fighting continues in the country with no signs of rapprochement between the two sides. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern at the worsening situation and called on the warring factions to resolve their differences and agree to the formation of a unity government. “The formation of the Transitional Government is an essential step in implementing the peace agreement and laying the foundation for peace and stability in the country” Ban said. But his advice is likely to fall on deaf ears.

Now that the deadline for forming the unity government has been missed the United Nations and African Union will have to plan their next move to bring peace to the war-torn country. That will not be easy. Ban has pledged continued support for the people of South Sudan who have been “subjected to unimaginable suffering and human rights abuses” but he will have to strive harder to stop these abuses and get the fighting factions back to the negotiating table.

An August 26 peace agreement was supposed to put an end to a two-year-old civil war marked by mass killings on both sides. But expectations were not very high about the implementation of this accord both sides did not stop fighting and blamed the other side for not living up to their commitments.

South Sudan became independent in July 2011 but plunged into civil war two years later. Fighting broke out within the national army riven by ethnic tensions fuelled by a rivalry between Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar. What started off as a political dispute quickly widened and reopened ethnic faultlines between Kiir’s Dinka and Machar’s Nuer people. More than 10000 people have been killed. According to a UN report the human cost of the war is comparable to the conflicts in Syria Iraq and Yemen relative to South Sudan’s population of 12 million.

Both factions are now fighting for a military solution. This youngest nation in the world which won independence from Sudan after years of struggle is now frittering away that independence.

According to experts the UN needs to take tough action against Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar. They have also demanded an arms embargo on the country and the slapping of sanctions on and blacklisting of the leaders of both factions. The 15-member Security Council has long-threatened to impose an arms embargo but Russia backed by a council member Angola has been reluctant to support such a move.

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.