South Sudan

South Sudan

Updated July 28, 2022
South Sudan
Peace has been elusive in South Sudan, which became the
Figure 1. South Sudan Key Facts
world’s newest country in 2011. The civil war that erupted
there in late 2013 featured widespread sexual violence,
mass killings, and other atrocities. It displaced over a third
of the population, creating what is still Africa’s largest
refugee crisis. More than two million people who fled to
neighboring countries remain refugees. Another two million
are displaced internally. By one study, nearly 400,000 died
as a result of the war before the latest peace deal was signed
in 2018. The ongoing crisis has prompted congressional
action, including, most recently, S.Res. 473 and S.Res. 380.

Whether the peace deal ended the war is debated. A cease-
Source: CRS map. Facts from CIA and IMF reference databases.
fire between the main signatories has largely held, but gains
South Sudan’s subsequent conflict reflected
under the agreement are tenuous, and an insurgency in the
tensions among
southern Equatoria region continues. Communal violence,
leaders and ethnic groups that date back to Sudan’s civil
often tied to national political rivalries, has surged. The
war. While that conflict is often described as a north-south
protracted humanitarian crisis is worsening: over two-thirds
struggle, infighting among southern rebel commanders in
the 1990s nearly derailed the south’s self
of the population—almost 9 million people, half of them
-determination bid.
Leaders in the Sudan People’s Liberation Mov
children—are estimated to need aid. Facing multiple shocks
ement/Army
and recurrent violence, much of the population have
(SPLM/ SPLA) competing for power mobilized supporters
along ethnic lines. All sides committed atrocities. Sudan’s
exhausted local coping mechanisms. Facing competing
donor funding priorities and rising costs, aid agencies have
government fueled SPLM divisions by financing breakaway
had to reduce food aid, despite unprecedented need.
factions. The factions reconciled in the early 2000s, before
the government and SPLM signed the Comprehensive
The International Crisis Group says the country is “failing,”
Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.
and warns that conflict will continue until its leaders agree
After the CPA, the SPLM became the south’s ruling party.
to broaden the peace deal and devolve power more widely.
UN experts assess that “rather than breaking the violent
With SPLM leader John Garang’s death just months after
cycle of elite political bargaining,” the deal has become part
the CPA signing, the south lost its leading advocate for a
of it. “South Sudan is at a tipping point,” UN human rights
united Sudan, and in 2011 over 98% of southern Sudanese
monitors caution. Elections have not been held since
voted to secede. The new country was awash in small arms,
independence, and plans for polls in 2023 risk fueling
and local ethnic violence became increasingly politicized.
polarization. South Sudan ranks at the bottom of Freedom
Maneuvering ahead of elections planned for 2015 added to
House’s Global Freedom index, and there is little space for
these dynamics. Work on a new constitution stalled, and a
dissent. Security forces have “mutilated, tortured, beat, and
2013 cabinet reshuffle, in which President Salva Kiir
harassed political opponents, journalists, and human rights
dismissed his vice president, Riek Machar, formalized a
workers,” per the State Department, and killed government
major fissure in the SPLM. Tensions rose as Machar and
critics in politically motivated reprisals. The top UN official
others accused Kiir of becoming increasingly dictatorial
in South Sudan told the UN Security Council in June that
and erupted in December 2013, as the party convened to
the window for meeting key benchmarks in the transitional
vote on whether Kiir would be their presidential candidate.
period—scheduled to end in February 2023—is closing.
The Civil War
The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), currently the
The political dispute that triggered the crisis in late 2013
world’s largest UN peacekeeping mission, remains focused
was not based on ethnic identity, but it overlapped with
on protecting civilians, facilitating aid delivery, monitoring
existing ethnic and political grievances, spurring targeted
abuses, and supporting implementation of the peace deal.
ethnic killings and clashes in the capital, and then beyond.
Background and Context
What began as a fight among the presidential guard
ultimately split the military, largely along ethnic lines. Kiir
South Sudan’s independence followed a vote for secession,
accused Machar of attempting a coup. Hundreds died in
after almost 40 years of rebellion against Sudan’s
attacks reportedly targeting Machar’s Nuer ethnic group in
government. That war inhibited the development of basic
Juba; and revenge attacks against Kiir’s Dinka followed.
infrastructure, human capital, and formal institutions in the
Machar and several senior Nuer military commanders
south. Humanitarian needs persisted after independence,
subsequently declared a rebellion. The ensuing war pitted
despite rich natural resources, including oil fields that once
government forces and ethnic militia loyal to Kiir against
generated 75% of Sudan’s oil production. South Sudan’s
those aligned with Machar. Uganda provided initial military
leaders, former rebels, had little experience in governing,
support to the government and facilitated its arms imports.
and corruption slowed post-war recovery and development.
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South Sudan
Over 200,000 people sought refuge at UN peacekeeping
Atrocities and Prospects for Peace
bases. Many who fled to the Protection of Civilians (POC)
From the outset of the war, “civilians were not only caught
sites, as they became known, remained there throughout the
up in the violence, they were directly targeted, often along
war. One study assessed that the UN decision to open the
ethnic lines,” per UNMISS, and UN officials say the attacks
sites saved tens of thousands of lives.
on civilians, humanitarians, and UN personnel in the past
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD;
decade may constitute war crimes or crimes against
an East African regional body) led efforts to mediate among
humanity. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South
the parties, but they repeatedly broke commitments to cease
Sudan asserts that ethnic cleansing occurred. The warring
hostilities. Under threat of an arms embargo and other
parties have been implicated in widespread sexual violence.
sanctions, they signed a peace deal in 2015. Kiir called the
A 2016 attack by government forces on a residence for aid
deal an attack on the country’s sovereignty. The parties
workers in Juba, during which Americans were assaulted
delayed its implementation until 2016, when they formed a
and a local journalist killed, highlighted the dangers facing
transitional government. Machar returned to Juba as First
aid workers and other expatriates. Over 130 aid workers,
Vice President and a new cabinet was named. Sporadic
most South Sudanese, have been killed since 2013.
clashes continued, though, and violence spread to areas that
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has
were previously comparatively stable. The deal collapsed in
described government efforts to hold perpetrators of abuses
July 2016, when confrontations between the parties’ forces
accountable as “few and inadequate.” UN experts say the
in Juba sparked intense fighting. Machar fled, pursued by
war has caused a “systemic breakdown of South Sudanese
Kiir’s forces to the Congolese border. He was airlifted to
society,” and that “exclusion of competing tribal groups
Sudan for medical treatment and later traveled to South
from political power has become a principal aim of many
Africa, where he was put under de-facto house arrest.
protagonists.” An African Union Commission of Inquiry
The war resumed. In an apparent effort to maintain the
has emphasized the need for accountability for atrocities.
appearance of a unity government, Kiir replaced Machar
The government agreed to the creation of a hybrid court in
with his ally-turned-rival Taban Deng. He dismissed
the peace deals but has delayed its establishment.
opposition cabinet ministers and legislators loyal to
Oil Revenues and State Corruption
Machar, who continued to lead the main armed opposition
South Sudan has Sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest proven
faction from exile. The insurgency against Kiir’s
oil reserves. The oil sector dominates the economy but
government spread and fractured, with new groups
lacks transparency. Oil accounts for over a third of GDP,
emerging and defections from both sides. The war moved
90% of government revenue, and 95% of exports.
into the southern Equatoria region, spurring a refugee surge
(Production is roughly half what it was before the war.) UN
into Uganda and affecting vital trade routes. Intercommunal
reports document extensive state corruption, describing a
tensions rose, including among the Dinka.
highly informal system of oil revenue collection that
The UN Security Council, which established a targeted
enables the misappropriation of public funds and diversion
sanctions regime in early 2015—under which eight
to patronage networks.
commanders, including the current and former army chiefs,
U.S. Policy and Foreign Assistance
have been designated—imposed an arms embargo in 2018.
The United States, which played a lead role in facilitating
The “Revitalized” Peace Deal
the CPA and South Sudan’s independence, is the country’s
Sudan, to the surprise of many, assumed the role of lead
largest bilateral aid donor and the penholder on the issue in
mediator in 2018, with former rival Uganda in a supporting
the UN Security Council. Historically driven by human
role. Kiir, Machar, and several other opposition leaders
rights and humanitarian concerns, congressional interest has
signed a new deal in September 2018, reportedly under
been prominent in shaping U.S. policy. The civil war and
pressure from Sudan, which had struck its own arrangement
concerns about corruption and security force abuses have
with Juba over oil revenues. Other groups rejected the deal,
strained ties. By some accounts, U.S. engagement has been
saying it failed to address the war’s root causes.
hampered by diplomatic vacancies and indecision. The new
U.S. ambassador, Michael J. Adler, assumes the post after a
A new ceasefire between the signatories brought a lull in
four-year vacancy at the U.S. embassy in Juba.
fighting, but the parties failed to form a new transitional
government until early 2020, and the legislature was not
The United States has sanctioned over a dozen people under
reconstituted until mid-2021. The lack of progress on a key
Executive Order 13664, issued by President Obama in
component of the peace deal, the unification of forces into
2014. The Trump Administration sanctioned three business
the army, has contributed to insecurity. Peace talks with
associates of senior government officials for corruption and
non-signatory groups have made little progress.
five officials for the killing of human rights activists under
authority granted by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
The two main signatories have suffered internal divisions:
Accountability Act, and imposed sanctions on 15 South
Kiir faces discontent within his Dinka base and calls for
Sudanese oil operators in 2018. South Sudan is subject to
new leadership, while Machar’s top commander mounted a
aid restrictions based on the Child Soldiers Protection Act.
revolt against Machar in 2021 and aligned himself with
Kiir. The further fragmentation of Machar’s SPLM-IO (In
U.S. humanitarian aid totaled over $700 million in FY2021
Opposition) has fueled new violence. The UN Panel of
and $585 million to date in FY2022. The Biden
Administration’s
Experts has described the defection of over a dozen senior
FY2023 budget request includes almost
IO commanders as part of a government strategy to erode
$147 million in bilateral aid for South Sudan.
opposition unity and weaken Machar’s influence. The Panel
Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Specialist in African Affairs
has also reported on fresh recruitment by proxy forces.
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South Sudan

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