(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Hussein Ibrahim KHARTOUM, July 20 (KUNA) -- Early this month, a new bout of deadly confrontation erupted between forces loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Vice-President Riek Machar leaving at least 300 people dead and forcing over 40,00 to flee their homes.
The new flare up came just three month after the signing of a peace deal to end the open war between the two rivals that threatened to dismember the world's newest state.
Soldiers from the Dinka ethnic group, one of the two largest ethnic groups in South Sudan, aligned with President Mayardit and those from the Nuer ethnic group, the other largest ethnic group, supported Machar.
The conflict dates back to December 15, 2013, when President Mayardit announced that an attempted coup had been staged by his vice president Machar and some of his supporters.
Right after this announcement, armed conflict broke out in the nation's capital Juba and rapidly spread to others, including Bor, capital of Jonglei; Bentiu in the oil-producing Unity state; and Malakal, capital of the Upper Nile state. South Sudan thus entered into a full-blown confrontation, complicated by conflicts over power, wealth, and tribal divisions.
The two-year conflict, led to the death of tens of thousands of people and drove more than 2.5 million from their homes.
Under the threat of international sanctions and following several rounds of negotiations supported by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), President Mayardit signed a peace agreement with rebel leader and former Vice President Machar on August 26, 2015.
As the first step toward ending the civil war, Machar returned to Juba on April 26, 2016 and was sworn in as vice president, after spending more than two years outside of the country.
Both sides, however, never put into place the most of the peace agreement provisions, especially those related to the military and security arrangements and the integration of all armed groups and people into the national army which was one of the main causes of the recent flare up which started when presidential guards attacked an officer loyal to Machar.
Machar's forces responded with an attack against convoy of the president forces in which five fighters were killed.
After the attack, the confrontation escalated and spread to many parts of the country to claim the lives of hundreds of people and displace tens of thousands in just a few days.
A state of cautious calmness returned to country a few days ago after calls from both leaders to end hostilities following pressure from the international community. The tension, however, still high amid reports about mobilization of forces of Nuer tribe.
The causes of the conflict which pitted fellow citizens who fought hand in hand a few years ago a fierce decades-long independence war against North Sudan.
They includes deep-rooted tribal divisions, power ambitions, the inefficiency of the state institutions and leaders, the central government failure to control the army and integrate all armed groups into it and the growing public frustration from the absence of any prospects of development and progress to the new country.
But the worst was the power struggle, differences and lack of confidence among President Mayardit and his Vice-President Machar.
The lack of trust between the two leaders were not new as President Mayardit and his supporters have never forgotten that Machar and his supporters have split from and even fought the Sudan's People Liberation Movement (SPLAM), which was leading the independence war against the North Sudan, in 1991 and signed a peace agreement with the government of North Sudan in 1994 which weakened SPLAM's position in the war.
The lack of trust continued even after Machar's disagreement with the North and rejoining of the ranks of SPLAM in 2001 to be appointed as a deputy to its leader John Garang.
This rivalry was fanned by a prophecy made by a famous South Sudanese magician who forestall that the leadership of South Sudan would be soon move to one of the Nuer tribe leader, many believe Machar is one meant by it.
Observers believe that the recent round of violence unveiled a state of high tension and lack of confidence as well as the two leaders' inability to control their forces.
Many observers believe that the solution to the crisis lies in the implementation of the resolutions issued by IGAD last Monday which called for immediate cessation of hostilities, implementation of the provisions of the peace agreement and increasing the number of peacekeepers in the country. President Mayardit, however, rejects any surge in the number of peacekeepers or any enhancement to their weaponry and equipment. He fears they could be used to impose a certain solution.
For his part, South Sudan's First Vice-president Machar has set five preconditions for an end to the ongoing crisis in the country.
Machar's spokesman Peter Gatkuoth said in a phone conversation with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the five preconditions include freeing Juba of gunmen, creating a third UN-sponsored peacekeeping force, speeding up constitutional changes, completing the building of state institutions and setting up a war crime court at an early date.
He said there were contacts from South Sudan's government and president Kiir asking Machar to return to Juba and discuss the implementation of their peace agreement.
However, Gatkuoth maintained, the government is seeking to replace Machar with an armed opposition leader.
For his part, Khartoum University Professor James Galwak stated that "ending tribalism is one of the solutions to the current situation." He also emphasized the importance of dialogue among rival groups to reach a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the crisis.
"If they did not put their faith in dialogue not bullets, the bloodshed would continue till the total collapse of country as it was the case in Somalia," he concluded. (end) hhi.ibi