Six Journalists Arrested For Releasing Footage Showing South Sudan President Wetting Himself During An Official Event

 

The Guardian: Six journalists arrested over footage of South Sudan president wetting himself 

State broadcaster’s staff held on suspicion of disseminating the clip of Salva Kiir at official event 

Six journalists have been detained by South Sudan security forces over viral footage of the country’s president apparently urinating on himself, a press freedom watchdog has reported. 

The clip, filmed during an official event, shows South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir standing for the national anthem, initially oblivious as a stain spreads on his trousers and a pool forms at his feet. 

The camera abruptly turns away after Kiir and his entourage appear to notice what is happening.  

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WNU editor: The emperor has no clothes. South Sudan President Salva Kiir has always been sensitive about his image. This video just destroyed it. 

Six Journalists Arrested For Releasing Footage Showing South Sudan President Wetting Himself 

South Sudan union says journalists detained over viral video -- AP  

South Sudan: Journalists held over film of president appearing to wet himself -- BBC  

Journalists arrested in South Sudan after video appears to show President Salva Kiir urinating on himself -- ABC News Australia  

South Sudan journalists detained over video of President Salva Kiir 'wetting himself' -- SKY News  

Six journalists detained over footage that shows South Sudan president seemingly wetting himself -- CNN 

WATCH: Six Journalists Arrested for Releasing Video Showing South Sudan President Wetting Himself -- POJ Media

Dozens Killed, Thousands Displaced In New Wave Of Darfur Violence

South Sudanese soldiers drive through Malakal in 2013. Clashes this year between armed groups aligned with government and opposition forces have subjected civilians to 'unimaginable violence', says Amnesty International. Reuters  

The Guardian: Dozens die and thousands flee in West Darfur tribal fighting 

 Deadly clashes erupt in three separate areas with poor medical facilities as wider Darfur region slides into violence 

Tribal fighting has killed dozens of people over the past three weeks in three separate areas of Sudan’s West Darfur region and thousands of people have fled the violence, local medics have said. 

The West Darfur Doctors Committee said in statements on Wednesday and Thursday that attacks in the Kreinik area killed 88 and wounded 84, while renewed violence in the Jebel Moon area killed 25 and wounded four. 

Meanwhile, violence in the Sarba locality killed eight and wounded six. “They have created a wave of displacement from the outskirts into the town, with a humanitarian situation that can be described at the very least as catastrophic,” the committee said in a statement late on Wednesday, referring to Kreinik.  

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Dozens Killed, Thousands Displaced In New Wave Of Darfur Violence  

Aid groups warn of rise in Darfur violence, dozens killed -- Reuters  

Dozens killed, thousands displaced in wave of Darfur violence -- Al Jazeera  

South Sudan violence could amount to 'war crimes' says Amnesty -- The National

UN Report: War Crimes Are Widespread In South Sudan

Families wait in the early hours of the morning to be registered prior to a food distribution carried out by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and partner agencies, in Thonyor, Leer county, South Sudan. Unicef

UN News: South Sudan: ‘Outraged’ UN experts say ongoing widespread human rights violations may amount to war crimes

United Nations investigators on Wednesday denounced a raft of gross human rights violations being perpetrated in South Sudan, where over the past year, incidents of rape have surged and abductions, sexual slavery and brutal killings “have become commonplace.”

“There is a confirmed pattern of how combatants attack villages, plunder homes, take women as sexual slaves and then set homes alight – often with people in them,” Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said in Nairobi at the launch of the launch of the three-member expert-body’s third report.

“Rapes, gang rapes, sexual mutilation, abductions and sexual slavery, as well as killings, have become commonplace in South Sudan,” she continued. “There is no doubt that these crimes are persistent because impunity is so entrenched that every kind of norm is broken.”

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Update #1: U.N. reports mass rape, killings, torture in South Sudan, seeks oil scrutiny (Reuters)
Update #2: UN identifies South Sudan's mass rapists, killers and torturers (Al Jazeera)

WNU Editor: The UN report is here .... Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (UN Human Rights Council).

New Surge Of Violence In South Sudan Sends Thousands To Flee To The DR Congo

South Sudanese SPLA soldiers are pictured in Pageri in Eastern Equatoria state, Aug. 20, 2015. The United Nations refugee agency, Feb. 12, 2019, says a surge of violence in Equatoria State has displaced thousands fleeing to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

VOA: New Violence in South Sudan Sends Thousands Fleeing to DR Congo

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — The United Nations refugee agency says a surge of violence in South Sudan's Yei State has displaced some 8,000 civilians and sent an estimated 5,000 people fleeing to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Clashes between the South Sudanese army and a rebel group, the National Salvation Front or NAS, broke out on January 19. This was barely four months after the latest peace deal aimed at ending the country's five-year civil war was signed by President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar.

U.N. refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch told VOA violence has been going down since then. And, he said, the two major parties that signed the accord appear to be sticking to it.

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Update: Thousands fleeing new violence in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State (UNHCR).

WNU Editor: It looks like the peace deal that was signed four months ago is falling apart.

South Sudan Government And Rebel Representatives Have Signed A New Power Sharing Agreement

Al Jazeera: South Sudan rivals reach new security arrangement deal

Government and rebel representatives are expected to sign a new power-sharing agreement in Uganda on Saturday.

South Sudan's warring sides have signed an accord on security arrangements after talks in neighbouring Sudan's capital, a step that could lead to a power-sharing deal.

"All parties have agreed to withdraw military troops from urban areas as part of the security agreement," Jamal Omar, Sudanese chief of military intelligence, said at Friday's signing ceremony in Khartoum.

The agreement comes days after foes Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, and Riek Machar, his former vice president and now rebel leader, agreed to a permanent ceasefire, raising hopes for an end to the five-year conflict that has devastated the world's youngest country.

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WNU Editor: There are some conflicting reports on what this deal actually entails .... South Sudan: Confusion over power-sharing deal agreed to by president, rebel leader (DW).

More News On South Sudan Government And Rebel Representatives Signing A New Power Sharing Agreement

South Sudan's Machar set to be 'reinstated as vice president' -- Al Jazeera
South Sudan government, rebels sign security deal -- DW
South Sudan foes agree to withdraw forces from 'urban areas' -- Daily Monitor
What the South Sudan security deal entails -- East African

UNICEF: 250,000 Children In War-Torn South Sudan Are "At Risk Of Imminent Death"

Al Jazeera: War-hit children in S Sudan 'at risk of imminent death'

More than 250,000 children in war-torn South Sudan are "at risk of imminent death" because of severe malnutrition, a United Nations official has said.

Henrietta H Fore, executive director of the UN children's agency (UNICEF), issued the stark warning on Friday after a two-day visit to some of the areas most affected by the country's civil war, now in its fifth year.

"It's serious here in South Sudan," she told Al Jazeera from South Sudan's capital, Juba.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This makes the crisis worse .... 28 aid workers killed in South Sudan last year, a new high (ABC News/AP)

More News On UNICEF's Report That 250,000 Children In War-Torn South Sudan Are "At Risk Of Imminent Death"

250,000 South Sudanese children could die by July -- Axios
UN warns of "lost generation" in South Sudan's grinding conflict -- Africa News/Reuters
South Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 01. 18 January 2018 (Relief Web)
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore following two-day visit to conflict-ravaged South Sudan -- Relief Web
Farmers Risk Whippings as War Decimates South Sudan Breadbasket -- Bloomberg

Massacre By Tribal Militias In South Sudan Kills 50

Image from BBC


Reuters: Tribal militia kill 43 in South Sudan's Jonglei state, abduct women, children

JUBA (Reuters) - A tribal militia killed at least 43 people in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, local officials said on Wednesday, extending a spate of tit-for-tat revenge killings.

Raiders from the Murle ethnic group killed 20 men, 22 women and one child, and injured 19 people in the village of Duk Payel on Tuesday, Jonglei Information Minister Jocab Akech Deng said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a separate statement that among those killed were six staff members of local aid organisations.

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WNU Editor: The violence in this country is truly staggering .... In South Sudan, mothers and their children born of rape become forgotten victims of war (Globe and Mail). More here .... South Sudan violence against women is twice global average (FOX News/AP).

Update: This is not going to happen .... U.S. threatens South Sudan action, Russia warns against U.N. measures (Reuters).

More News On Reports Of A Massacre In South Sudan

“Horrific killing of innocent civilians” in South Sudan condemned -- Relief Web
50 dead in South Sudan tribal raids: Official -- Gulf News/AFP
At least 40 killed in tribal clashes in S.Sudan -- China.org.cn
Rights body condemns tribal attack in Jonglei state -- Sudan Tribune

Famine Declared In Parts Of South Sudan

The Guardian: Famine declared in South Sudan

‘Man-made’ food crisis threatens 100,000 people after war and a collapsing economy devastate agriculture in the country

Famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan, where UN agencies warned on Monday that war and a collapsing economy have left 100,000 people facing starvation.

A further 1 million people were classified as being on the brink of famine, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN bodies. Unimpeded humanitarian access was urgently needed to reverse “an escalating catastrophe”, they added.

Read more ....

More News On Famine Being Declared In Parts Of South Sudan

Famine declared in region of South Sudan – UN -- UN News Centre
Famine declared in part of South Sudan by government and UN -- AP
Parts of South Sudan suffering famine: govt official -- Reuters
South Sudan declares famine in Unity State -- BBC
Famine declared in parts of South Sudan as 100,000 face starvation -- DW
Millions in South Sudan in Urgent Need of Food, UN Warns -- New York Times
Famine declared in South Sudan, with 100,000 people facing starvation -- Washington Post
Famine declared in South Sudan; U.N. says more than 5M at risk -- UPI

U.N. Chief Warns That Genocide Is About To Begin In South Sudan

The Guardian: Action needed now to prevent South Sudan genocide, says UN chief

Ban Ki-moon issues plea to security council to impose arms embargo on African country, amid fears of escalating violence

The United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has said he fears genocide could start in South Sudan unless immediate action is taken, renewing his plea for the security council to impose an arms embargo on the country.

“If we fail to act, South Sudan will be on a trajectory towards mass atrocities,” Ban told the security council.

Noting that the UN’s special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, has described genocide as a process, Ban said: “I am afraid that process is about to begin unless immediate action is taken.

“The security council must take steps to stem the flow of arms to South Sudan,” he added.

Read more ....

More News On The Crisis In South Sudan

‘Act now’ to halt South Sudan’s ‘trajectory towards mass atrocities,’ Ban urges Security Council -- UN News Centre
U.N. chief fears genocide about to start in South Sudan -- Reuters
Mass atrocities feared in South Sudan as ethnic violence is stoked by hunger -- The Guardian
As Situation Deteriorates in South Sudan, Secretary-General Urges Security Council to Impose Arms Embargo, Calls for Reinvigorated Political Process -- Relief Web
US seeks UN Security Council vote on South Sudan arms embargo -- AFP
Amid Growing Unrest, South Sudan Kicks Out Aid Workers -- NPR

United Nations: There Are Over 17000 Child Soldiers In South Sudan

On 26 October 2016, children associated with the Cobra faction wait to be demobilized in Pibor, South Sudan. A total of 145 children from the Cobra Faction and SPLA-IO were disarmed and released by the two armed groups. Photo: UNICEF/Charles Lomodong

UN News Centre: Number of children recruited into South Sudanese conflict passes 17,000 – UNICEF

15 December 2016 – According to new figures released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), some 1,300 children were recruited by armed forces and armed groups in 2016, bringing the total number of children used in conflict since 2013 to more than 17,000.

“Since the first day of this conflict, children have been the ones most devastatingly affected by the violations,” said Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

“Now, as the fighting intensifies – and despite repeated pledges by all to end child recruitment – children are once again being targeted,” she added.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and SPLA in Opposition have both signed agreements with the UN in order to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in the conflict.

So far, 1,932 children have been released by armed forces: 1,755 in 2015 and 177 this year

Read more ....

Update #1: Rise in child recruitment as conflict in South Sudan enters fourth year -- UNICEF
Update #2: Nowhere to run for the children of South Sudan -- Al Jazeera

WNU Editor: My gut is telling me that these numbers are probably on the low end.

UN: South Sudan On Brink Of Ethnic Civil War And Genocide

DW: UN: South Sudan on 'brink of ethnic civil war'

The UN's human rights envoy for South Sudan has called for troops to be deployed in the African country. Ongoing violence is raising concerns about a looming genocide similar to the one in Rwanda.

UN experts called for a strengthening of peacekeeping forces in South Sudan during a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, warning that the country was on the verge of slipping into further violence.

Speaking before the council, Yasmin Sooka, the UN's chief human rights expert for South Sudan, said signs pointing toward mass atrocities in the east-central African nation were already apparent, such as increasingly polarized ethnic identities and a culture of denial.

Read more ....

More News On U.N. Warnings That South Sudan Is On The Brink Of Ethnic Civil War And Genocide

UN: South Sudan on brink of ethnic civil war -- Al Jazeera
Hatred spills beyond South Sudan along with refugees -- Reuters
South Sudan on brink of an all-out ethnic civil war, UN says -- AP
UN warns action needed to prevent genocide in South Sudan -- UPI
Only swift action can avert South Sudan genocide, says UN human rights chief -- The Guardian
South Sudan faces 'Rwanda-like' genocide, UN human rights commission warns -- The Independent
South Sudan On Brink Of 'Rwanda-Like' Genocide, Commission Warns -- NPR
South Sudan war: 'Rwanda-like genocide' must be stopped -- International Business Times
We're ignoring a possible genocide in South Sudan -- CNN

U.N. Peacekeepers Failed In Their South Sudan Mission

New York Times: As South Sudan Troops Killed and Raped, U.N. Forces Didn’t Stop Them

As South Sudanese troops entered the Terrain Hotel and began attacking the civilians — many of them Western aid workers — who had sought refuge inside, frantic pleas for help to United Nations peacekeepers stationed less than a mile away went unanswered.

That was one of the sharply critical conclusions of a report, issued on Tuesday, into the performance of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, where in July government soldiers went on a killing, raping and looting spree in the capital, Juba.

That mayhem worsened South Sudan’s three-year-old civil war, overshadowed the fifth anniversary of independence and caused foreign aid groups to rethink their commitments there.

Read more ....

More News On The Failed UN Peacekeeping Mission In South Sudan

UN sacks South Sudan peacekeeping chief over damning report -- BBC
South Sudan peacekeeping commander sacked over 'serious shortcomings' -- The Guardian
U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan criticized for response to July attack -- UPI
UN commander fired over peacekeepers' response in South Sudan -- CNN
U.N. chief fires commander in South Sudan after harsh report -- AP
UN Dismisses South Sudan Peacekeeping Chief for 'Lack of Leadership' -- Newsweek
South Sudan: Ban to put in place measures to improve UN Mission’s ability to protect civilians -- UN News Centre
UN must clarify why its peacekeepers failed in South Sudan -- Gulf News

South Sudan's Former Rebel Leader Has Fled To Sudan For 'Medical Treatment'

South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar speaks during a briefing ahead of his return to South Sudan as vice president, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa April 9, 2016 (Photo: Reuters)

AFP: S.Sudan ex-VP Machar in Khartoum for 'medical treatment'

South Sudan's former rebel leader Riek Machar has arrived in Khartoum for "medical treatment," the Sudanese government said Tuesday, after he escaped to the Democratic Republic of Congo following deadly clashes last month.
Machar was replaced by Taban Deng Gai as South Sudan's first vice president after hundreds died in Juba last month in clashes between Machar's forces and government troops.

"Sudan has received Riek Machar on humanitarian grounds and so he can have medical treatment," Sudanese government spokesman Ahmed Bilal said in a statement.

He did not specify when Machar arrived in Khartoum, but said that he was in need of "immediate medical treatment".

"He is now stable. He will continue to stay in the country until he decides when to leave," Bilal said, without providing further details on the treatment.

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WNU Editor: I suspect that this South Sudan rebel leader actually fled for his life (not for some medical treatment) .... South Sudan Rebel Leader Flees After Assassination Attempt (Breitbart). Here is an indication on how bloody the South Sudan civil war has become .... South Sudan Clashes Leave 290 Dead as U.S. Urges Regional Action (Bloomberg).

More News On The Crisis In South Sudan

Sudan Says It Has South Sudan's Former Rebel Leader Who Fled -- AP
South Sudan opposition leader in Khartoum for treatment, Sudan says -- Reuters
South Sudan's Riek Machar in Khartoum for medical care -- Al Jazeera
Over 100 soldiers killed in South Sudan’s Jonglei state -- Sudan Tribune
Ex-Dutch General to Lead Probe Into South Sudan Attacks -- AP
Kerry warns South Sudan that aid won’t continue if its leaders don’t seek peace -- Washingtion Post
John Kerry Tells South Sudan Leaders: 'Take Bull By Horns' or Face Sanctions -- Newsweek
Kerry Urges Deployment of 'Protection Force' in South Sudan -- VOA

South Sudan Government Forces Go On A Rampage Of Violence. UN Forces Ignored Please For Help

Bloomberg: Troops Killed South Sudan Reporter, Raped Women, Group Says

South Sudanese government soldiers executed a journalist and gang-raped women when they overran a compound used by international organizations during fighting in the African nation’s capital last month, Human Rights Watch said.

At least 73 civilians were killed, others raped and aid agencies looted as a result of about five days of fighting that raged in Juba from July 7, the New York-based organization said Monday in a statement. Soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and army chief Paul Malong committed most of the crimes, it said.

Read more ....

More News On The Crisis In South Sudan

South Sudan: Killings, Rapes, Looting in Juba -- Human Rights Watch
Rampaging South Sudan troops raped foreigners, killed local -- AP
South Sudan's president says will consider U.N. troops -- Reuters
South Sudan president considers new, stronger UN force -- AFP
South Sudan Seeks More Details on Peacekeepers, Spokesman Says -- Bloomberg
South Sudan softens stance on UN peacekeeping force -- Al Jazeera
New clashes threaten peace in South Sudan -- DW

South Sudan Facing A New Refugee Crisis

DW: UN: Tens of thousands fleeing violence in South Sudan

Recent fighting in South Sudan has forced over 26,000 people to flee the country into neighboring Uganda, said the UN refugee agency. The UN warned that the rising influx has stretched the capacity of reception centers.

Over 26,000 South Sudanese refugees displaced by violence crossed the border into Uganda this month, reported the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Friday.

"Since fighting erupted on July 7 … 26,468 people have crossed into Uganda's northern region," UN refugee agency spokesman Andreas Needham wrote in a statement.

He added that 24,321 of the refugees had arrived in the previous six days alone.

Read more ....

More News On The Crisis In South Sudan

South Sudan Armed Opposition Claims to Remove Vice President -- AP
S. Sudan: Kiir gives Machar ultimatum to return to Juba -- Al Jazeera
Machar's Return to Juba Unlikely, Spokesman Says -- VOA
Split appears in South Sudan opposition, threatens more turmoil -- Reuters
Cholera Outbreaks Confirmed in South Sudan -- VOA
26,000 flee South Sudan to Uganda, says UN -- AP
Number of people fleeing South Sudan violence hits one-day record, officials say -- Reuters
Who Will Save South Sudan As It Teeters On the Verge of Civil War, Again? -- Newsweek
Is There Any Hope for Peace in South Sudan? -- New York Times
South Sudan Crisis: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know -- Heavy

After Delays South Sudan Rebel Leader Riek Machar Returns To Juba

New York Times: Riek Machar, South Sudan Opposition Leader, Returns as Part of Peace Deal


JUBA, South Sudan — More than two years after South Sudan’s civil war began, its opposition leader landed in the capital, Juba, on Tuesday for a ceremony to restore him as vice president, a vital step in a peace deal plagued by delay and mistrust.

South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, was born in 2011 to great international fanfare. But shortly after independence, it spiraled into a civil war that killed thousands and displaced more than two million people.

Nearly two years of peace negotiations in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, yielded several cease-fires, and recommitments to cease-fires, that were broken almost immediately.

Now the return of the opposition leader, Riek Machar, puts him basically back where he had started, as the official No. 2 to his chief rival, President Salva Kiir.

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More News On South Sudan Rebel Leader Riek Machar Returning To Juba

South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar returns to Juba -- BBC
South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar returns to Juba -- AFP
After Delays, South Sudan Rebel Chief Returns to Juba -- VOA
South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar returns to Juba -- VOA
South Sudan Rebel Chief Returns With Pledge to Help Bring Peace -- Bloomberg
Rebel Leader Riek Machar Returns to South Sudan—and Brings Hopes for Peace With Him -- Time

War Crimes In South Sudan Are Widespread

Mail & Guardian/AFP: Steady descent from hope: South Sudan is dying, and nobody is counting anymore


Men, women, children have been shot, speared, burned, castrated, hung, drowned, run over, suffocated, starved and blown up- the dead could be 300,000.

THE many ways people have died during South Sudan’s two-year civil war are well-documented, but the number killed is unknown.

Men, women and children have been shot, speared, burned, castrated, hung, drowned, run over, suffocated, starved and blown up, their corpses abandoned where they fell, bulldozed into mass graves or, in at least one case, eaten in ritual cannibalism.

But the UN has stuck to a guesstimate of 10,000 dead since the early months of the war, even as the killing escalated and spread across the country.

A year into the war, in November 2014, the International Crisis Group (ICG) which has closely tracked the fighting, told news agency AFP at least 50,000 had died.

This month, the UN finally caught up, quoting the same figure but over a two-year span.

Read more ....

More News On War Crimes Being Committed In South Sudan

South Sudan: Suffocation of more than 60 men and boys in a shipping container is a war crime -- Amnesty International
UN report highlights 'searing' account of killings, rapes by South Sudanese forces -- UN News Centre
UN Decries 'Horrendous Human Rights Violations' in South Sudan -- VOA
In South Sudan, Thousands Raped, Children And Disabled Burned Alive Largely By Pro-Government Forces: UN Report -- IBTimes
Amnesty accuses South Sudan of war crime over shipping container deaths -- The Guardian/AFP
South Sudan is dying, and nobody is counting -- AFP
South Sudan Troops Suffocated 60 Men, Boys, Amnesty Reports -- VOA
South Sudan: Women raped 'as reward for fighters' -- BBC
South Sudan troops systematically raped girls and women, U.N. says -- CNN
In South Sudan’s War, Mass Gang Rape Has Become an Everyday Weapon -- VICE News

South Sudan War Is Worsening

AFP: South Sudan crisis is worsening: UN

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - South Sudan's humanitarian crisis is catastrophic and continues to worsen as warring sides are "dragging their feet" in implementing a peace deal, the UN peacekeeping chief said.

Herve Ladsous said "tens of thousands of people have died -- we've lost count" and some two million have been driven from their homes in the war, now in its third year.

While a peace deal was reached in August, "the parties are dragging their feet on its implementation", Ladsous told reporters.

Read more ....

Update #1: Fighting persists in South Sudan despite peace treaty (Mail & Guardian)
Update #2: U.N. official says at least 50,000 dead in South Sudan war -- Reuters

WNU Editor: No one is really interested in peace .... and I doubt that this war will end any-time soon.

African Union: Situation In South Sudan Is Worsening

New York Times: African Union Says Crisis in South Sudan Is Worsening

NAIROBI, Kenya — A new report written for the African Union and made public on Monday presented an especially grim picture of South Sudan’s civil war, blaming government forces and rebels for the declining humanitarian situation in the world’s newest country.

The nine-page report, written by an evaluation commission for the African Union and dated Jan. 29, listed five violations of a cease-fire agreement, including an episode in October in which government forces were responsible for the deaths of 50 people who died from suffocation inside a shipping container. Investigators said the rebels had looted United Nations barges and ambushed civilians, killing or wounding about a dozen people in an attack in December.

“There is limited consolidation of peace, a worrying economic decline and violence ongoing,” the report said. “The economy is in particularly dire straits, with foreign reserves rapidly diminishing, growing inflation and rapid depreciation of the national currency.”

Read more ....

More News On South Sudan

South Sudan conflict: African Union blames government and rebels for ongoing violence -- IBTimes
South Sudan internal peace dialogue makes no progress -- Sudan Tribune
South Sudan Rebels Sustain Power-Sharing Deal After Setback -- Bloomberg
South Sudan troops killed 50 civilians by suffocation - report -- BBC
South Sudan troops suffocated 50 people in container: monitors -- AFP
Official: Starvation in South Sudan as Peace Process Stalls -- AP
Civilians ‘starving to death’ in South Sudan war zones: monitor -- AFP
Civilians starving in South Sudan war zones -- News 24
The Future of South Sudan -- Karen Sherman, Huffington Post

South Sudan Marks Two Years Of Civil War

Al Jazeera: South Sudan marks two years of ruinous war

Conflict rages on despite ceasefire deal, leaving more than one million displaced and four million severely hungry.

South Sudan on Tuesday marked two years since the start of a war that has forced one million people from their homes and left four million hungry as politicians broke at least eight commitments to peace.

The country descended into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar, who he had sacked earlier that year, of plotting a coup.

The clashes that followed set off a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the world's newest country, which won its independence from Sudan in 2011, along ethnic lines.

More News On South Sudan Marking Two Years Of Civil War

Peace Elusive as S. Sudan Marks 2 Years of Civil War -- VOA
South Sudan marks two years of civil war -- DW
Two years of South Sudan war with peace on paper only -- News 24
South Sudan Military Ordered to Shoot Down Planes -- VOA
South Sudan opposition faction criticizes government’s order to shoot down planes -- Sudan Tribune
South Sudanese commanders use child soldiers as 'cannon fodder' -- Reuters
Call South Sudan’s leaders to account on child soldiers says report -- Euronews
South Sudan: more UN peacekeepers to be sent in to protect civilians amid ceasefire violations -- UN News Centre
UN sends extra peacekeepers, drones to South Sudan -- AFP
U.N. boosts South Sudan peacekeepers; Russia, Venezuela voice concerns -- Reuters
Security Council renews UN peacekeeping force in Abyei for another five months -- UN News Centre
South Sudan’s War Just Turned Two — And the UN Says Its Peacekeepers Aren’t Leaving -- Samuel Oakford, VICE News
U.N. Bases Turn Into Cities For Desperate And Displaced In South Sudan -- NPR
MSF: U.N. Mission Failed to Stop Rape and Murder in South Sudan -- Newsweek
UN accused of 'shocking' lack of action over murder and rape in South Sudan -- The Guardian
Two-year conflict has led to ‘unrelenting crisis’ for South Sudan’s children, UN agencies warn -- UN News Centre
UN Accused of 'Complete Failure' to Protect Civilians in South Sudan -- Sputnik
South Sudan's War Has Raged For Two Years, Making Some People Very Rich -- Charlotte Alfred, Huffington Post
South Sudan: world's newest nation 'needs international management' -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian
What happened in South Sudan? -- BBC