"Following a bloody rupture in mid-December between President Salva Kiir and his former vice-president, Riek Machar, violence has spread across much of South Sudan. Forces loyal to Mr Machar have seized control of parts of Jonglei and all of oil-rich Unity state as well as chunks of Upper Nile, the other main oil-producing state. Governments in the region—mainly those of Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya—are striving to mediate, so far without success. A ceasefire brokered by the governments of neighbouring countries on December 31st in Ethiopia has yet to be given a starting date...
What began as a political power struggle within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party, soon took on a lethally ethnic character, pitting the country’s two largest communities against each other: Mr Kiir’s Dinka, the largest of South Sudan’s tribes, versus Mr Machar’s Nuer. At a senior level the ethnic make-up of each side is more complicated; for instance, the foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, a Nuer, has stayed loyal to the Dinka president, whereas the widow of John Garang, the SPLM’s Dinka founder, is said to prefer Mr Machar. But on the ground the reality has become brutally tribal; ethnic cleansing has been let rip."
The Economist
What began as a political power struggle within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party, soon took on a lethally ethnic character, pitting the country’s two largest communities against each other: Mr Kiir’s Dinka, the largest of South Sudan’s tribes, versus Mr Machar’s Nuer. At a senior level the ethnic make-up of each side is more complicated; for instance, the foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, a Nuer, has stayed loyal to the Dinka president, whereas the widow of John Garang, the SPLM’s Dinka founder, is said to prefer Mr Machar. But on the ground the reality has become brutally tribal; ethnic cleansing has been let rip."
The Economist
