President Obama promised to help advance Sub-Saharan Africa in 2012. In a White House released fact sheet from that same year, President Obama’s administration stated that the US “remains fully engaged in supporting Sudan and South Sudan.” Yet, South Sudan is on the brink of a potentially crippling civil war. The Obama administration has failed to address the problem, and if they do in the future, it may be too late.
The Sudanese region has been an area of conflict since 1955 with only a few years of peace. The state’s religious and cultural divide fueled the conflict for years. The northern region of Sudan was primarily made up of Arabic-speaking Muslims, while the southern region consisted of more ethnic Africans who were Christians influenced by Western values. After the country gained independence in 1956, the northern region attempted to instill its religious and cultural values on the southern region. This led to a conflict with few periods of peace that waged on until 2005 when there was a peace treaty signed.
Two intertwined groups led the war efforts of southern Sudan during the civil war beginning in 1983: the political spearhead, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the military force, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The leader of these two groups was John Garang, who was actually sent by Sudan to quell the rebellious southerners. Garang received assistance in the creation of these organizations from Salva Kiir, a bold military commander. Together, they helped advance the SPLM/SPLA to anchor the southern efforts in the war.
Major conflict continued until 2005 when a peace agreement was formed. The southern region of Sudan was given six years to administer to their area, and then there was to be a vote of independence. Garang took reign as President of the area, but died in an unexpected helicopter accident that left Kiir in charge.
The independence of South Sudan was easily secured in 2011 with 98% of the new country’s citizens voting for independence from Sudan. The government was voted in the year previous with a continued reign of Kiir at the helm. He was not left without controversy during the election due to strong indicators of rigging and vote manipulation. Alongside the elected Kiir was his vice-president, Riek Machar. Machar was part of the SPLA/SPLM camp during the civil war until he decided to splinter off to form the SPLA-Nasir. The group consisted primarily of ethnic Nuers in contrast to the ethnic Dinka led SPLA/SPLM.
The conflict between Machar and Kiir began with Machar’s massacre of around two thousand Dinka citizens at Bor. Conflict between ethnic groups in the southern region became more apparent after this event, so much so that the level of aggression between ethnic groups in the region was greater than the clash between northern and southern forces. Machar eventually backed off his splinter group and became part of the SPLA/SPLM movement in 2003.
From the beginning of the newly created South Sudan state, President Kiir accused Machar of running a separate government as vice president. In July of 2013, Kiir addressed his feud with Machar by removing him from the vice-presidency along with the rest of the cabinet ministers. The dissolving of these positions was constitutionally backed, but it created a splinter in the SPLM party that was primarily defined by Nuers and Dinkas. Supposed accomplices of Machar escalated the situation on December 15 when violence broke out against the SPLM. Kiir believed that Machar attempted a coup d’état that day, and thus the conflict inflated into what it is now today.
What began as a political battle has now stemmed into an ethnic conflict that is beginning to rival the days of the Sudanese Civil War. The Riek Machar led faction and the opposing South Sudanese government have both committed major ethnic massacres. Around 1.5 million people are currently displaced due to conflict, with around 100,000 of those people being housed at UN refugee camps. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have been killed in conflict, and the numbers continue to rise. Officially, cease-fire agreements have occurred between both parties. They remain meaningless as conflict continues.
The conflict has also had mass effect on important sectors South Sudan. Oil is the primary source of revenue for the government. 98% of the government revenues came from oil after South Sudan’s independence. The current conflict along with disputes with Sudan, which has the majority of pipelines leading out of the landlocked South Sudan, have led to a major decrease in output of oil. Conflict along with a devastating drought have also created a shortage in food that is currently leading to a famine that will affect nearly seven million of the country’s eleven million people.
Elections were planned in 2015 for the general assembly including the Presidential position. However, President Kiir has pushed back the elections to probably 2017 or 2018 in response to the internal conflict. He recently spoke to the UN General Assembly, and stated that the problem with the UN’s current involvement with South Sudan is that the organization is focusing their efforts on protecting civilians rather than nation building. How can nation building exist in a state where more than 10,000 people have died in the past year and more than 1.5 million people displaced? Nation building requires that the nation have a somewhat stable society, a society in which government institutions can be formed. A nation does not have the ability to build its own infrastructure when it is devoting a large amount of its resources military action.
President Obama and his administration must address this issue while attempting to create a solution that is beyond aid to displaced citizens and the ceremonial sanctions placed on leaders. A solution is easier said than done, but the Obama administration has lacked to even verbally condemn the violence. Cease-fire and peace talks must be continued by the UN with political pressure from the US to comply. No peace will come to a nation headed by either Salva Kiir or Riek Machar. Kiir has had the right intentions of uprooting corruption, but he has too strong of ties with a military and is has obtained presidential powers beyond constitutional limits. President Obama must stick to his word of creating a strong sub-Saharan Africa in order for conflict to end. •
