Editorial
South Sudan’s Imperiled Future
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Published: December 26, 2013 1 Comment
Two years after South Sudan declared independence from Sudan, political
tensions between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, the former vice
president, have erupted into violence, raising the possibility of civil
war and ethnic cleansing.
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Some 50,000 civilians are seeking protection at United Nations bases across South Sudan. The United Nations Security Council voted
on Tuesday to nearly double its peacekeeping force in that country to
12,500 troops and now must make sure that those reinforcements arrive as
soon as possible.
There is fault on both sides. Mr. Kiir’s initial accusation that Mr.
Machar, a rival and critic of the Kiir government, was plotting a coup
against him likely was overblown. The violence has its roots in a
longstanding political rivalry, ethnic tensions and the fact that in July,
Mr. Kiir, who comes from the Dinka tribe, fired Mr. Machar, who is a
Nuer. Since then, Mr. Machar has allied himself with other rebel groups
and has refused to negotiate unless his political allies are freed from
detention.
The leader of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said on Thursday that “well over a thousand” people have been killed in 11 days of fighting.
Fears of a broader blood bath are growing, as are concerns that the
country will unravel; that production at South Sudan-based oil fields,
which are crucial to the economies of both Sudan and South Sudan, will
be interrupted; and the fighting will draw in neighboring countries. On
Thursday, rebels loyal to Mr. Machar captured some oil wells in oil-rich Unity State.
The United States, which played a major role in South Sudan’s birth as
an independent state, has a special responsibility to mediate a
political solution. In a message last week,
Susan Rice, President Obama’s national security adviser and an Africa
expert who has long worked on issues connected to Sudan, urged leaders
on all sides to renounce violence and engage in peaceful dialogue. She
also warned that if Mr. Kiir and Mr. Machar insist on using force and
mass violence, “the United States will have no choice but to withdraw
our traditional, robust support.”
On Monday, South Sudan’s government threatened a major offensive to
retake strategic towns seized by the rebels. But Donald Booth, the
special United States envoy, met with Mr. Kiir, and afterward he said
that Mr. Kiir was ready to begin talks to end the crisis. The fighting
has already spread to half the country’s 10 states.
The United States, European partners, and leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia
who arrived in the capital of Juba on Thursday should be pressing for
negotiations and make clear that South Sudan’s leaders will face
sanctions if they drag their fragile country into another senseless war.
Sudan and South Sudan fought a civil war that killed more than two
million people before a peace deal was reached in 2005. It is
unfathomable that having achieved independence from Khartoum, Mr. Kiir
and Mr. Machar would again risk their country’s future by waging a
conflict in which all sides will surely lose.
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