South Sudan Is Riven By Horrific Conflict

The Republic of South Sudan will celebrate its fifth year as a new country on July 9. Yet observers record that about 50,000 were killed in an ethnically driven civil war full of "mass rape, civilian massacres, countless people displaced, killings at hospitals and now children starving to death in sunshine-flooded pediatric wards," according to nytimes. 

The war has been reported to be "over". Last month, there were calls for a cessation of hostilities and formation of a joint security force, as well as the end of a political turmoil. Riek Machar, the rebel leader who had been accused of staging a coup attempt a couple of years ago, is said to be returning as vice president.

Even in the refugee camp with "tens of thousands of displaced Nuer", very few feel safe to venture out. Many of these camp residents have homes just two miles away, but they ran from the civil war, and are still fearful that they will be killed if they return.w

The United Nations reported on Friday that there had been "serious and systematic violence" in the state. The worst were those who were "loyal" to the government. There were ghastly records of women and children "hanged from trees, burned alive, or shot and hacked to pieces with machetes. Churches, mosques and hospitals were marauded, according to the UN.

The government, led by members of the Dinka ethnic group, were ranged against Machar's rebel groups with a number of Nuers.

Sudan had splintered in December 2013. South Sudan's economy was looking up due to its oil fields, but both Sudan got driven by rivalries before the world oil prices nosedived.

The south has the biggest oil reserves while the north has the pipelines to export oil. However, they have not divided the profits. South Sudan just agrees to pay Sudan a fee of $25 for every barrel that is sent through the northern pipeline. However, as the global oil price is just $40 a barrel, South Sudan is losing its valuable resources for negligible amounts, says yahoo.