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‘How many Russians across the border – a hundred thousand odd? Army: Behind the Front Lines s1e3: Keeping the Peace in South Sudan, training briefing
The British army is deployed to one of the most dangerous places in the world, on a UN peace-keeping operation to protect thousands fleeing South Sudan’s civil war. ibid.
South Sudan is the world’s newest country. It gained independence in 2011 but quickly descended into civil war. ibid.
The camp is their only safe haven … The camp has now trebled in size making it the second largest city in South Sudan. Just 1,200 UN peacekeepers protect 120,000 civilians here. ibid.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005 agreement that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war.
Made up of the 10 southern-most states of Sudan, South Sudan is one of the most diverse countries in Africa. It is home to over 60 different major ethnic groups, and the majority of its people follow traditional religions.
Independence did not bring conflict in South Sudan to an end. Civil war broke out in 2013 when the president fell out with his then vice president, leading to a conflict that has displaced some 4 million people.
A power-sharing agreement was signed between the warring parties in August 2018 in a bid to bring the five-year civil war to an end. BBC online 6th August 2018
KHARTOUM, Sudan — South Sudanese rebels refused on Tuesday to sign the latest draft of a peace deal that would have ended a devastating civil war, a new setback in the five-year conflict.
President Salva Kiir and the leader of the main rebel group, Riek Machar, signed a ceasefire and power-sharing agreement earlier this month, having reached a preliminary deal in June that intended to end the fighting that first broke out in 2013.
But Mr Machar and another rebel group refused on Tuesday to sign the latest draft of the agreement, saying that disputes over power sharing and a new constitution had not been sufficiently addressed.
‘This is an unfortunate development that will not reflect well on the impartiality of the mediators and will throw doubt onto the whole process,’ the rebels said in a statement. The New York Time online article Reuters 28th August 2018, ‘South Sudan Rebels Refuse to Sign Peace Deal’
In February 2014, journalist Robert Young Pelton and photojournalist Tim Freccia traveled to South Sudan to investigate the reasons for its quickly devolving civil war. Saving South Sudan, Vice 2014
Sudan has been divided by war for centuries. The Arab north preyed on the black Christian south. In the early ’80s oil was discovered and the war intensified. Finally, after six decades of war, both sides realised they needed to find peace to take advantage of the black gold. In July 2011 South Sudan finally achieved its own independence. ibid.
On December 15th 2013 everything fell apart. The coup attempt is said to have started within the presidential guard … Soon, over 1,000 people were dead. ibid.
Life here has always centred around water. ibid.
In South Sudan the land flattens and the River transforms into a swamp the size of England. Earth’s Great Rivers II: Nile, BBC 2018