A who’s who in South Sudan’s splintering civil war
When the canada goose black friday sale third round of talks aimed at revitalising the chances of peace in South Sudan gets underway in Addis Ababa on 26 April, the country’s influential former military chief wants to be at the table.
Paul Malong’s announcement on Tuesday, 10April, that canada goose outlet black friday he was launching a new opposition party added an extra element of uncertainty into the mix ahead of potentially pivotal talks aimed at canada goose factory sale restoring a permanent ceasefire and reviving a collapsed 2015 peace agreement.
More than four million people, one third of the population, have fled their homes since South Sudan’s brutal war began in December 2013, creating the largest refugee crisis in Africa since the 1994 Canada Goose Jackets Rwandan genocide, and parts of the country have plunged towards famine.
Accused of human rights atrocities against civilians, Malong was sanctioned last year by the United States for obstructing peace talks, international peacekeeping efforts, and humanitarian missions.
Announcing the formation of his new group from exile in Kenya, Malong said he wanted to “arrest the carnage” of South Sudan’s ongoing war, stating that President Salva Kiir “has concentrated all his efforts, with the help of a small clique around him, to quite literally loot the coffers of our great nation to total bankruptcy.”
Malong’s new grouping is being portrayed both as a political party and as a form of rebellion, but experts say any large scale Canada Goose Coats On Sale military ambitions he may harbour are likely in their infancy.
“Malong has yet to show the capability to launch a potent rebellion,” explained Alan Boswell, conflict analyst and Sudan expert for Small Arms Survey, a Geneva based group focusing on armed violence. “The declaration of his rebel movement is a political move, not a military one. He canada goose outlet online is seeking to legitimise and protect canada goose outlet jackets his interests during the political process in Addis Ababa.”
South Sudan’swar beganafter Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, accused his former deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer, of attempting a coup. Fighting has since killed more than 50,000 people, with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition (SPLA IO) the main parties to the conflict.
A peace agreement was signed in August 2015, during Malong’s time as army chief, but the war has canada goose outlet shop since splintered into myriad inter and intra communal conflicts, incorporating previously localised disputes over land, resources, and power. Observers say the dynamics change almost daily.
Peace talks have continuously failed and the security situation is unpredictable at best in many parts of the country. The nation is largely divided along ethnic lines especially since the creation of new states, now a total of 32 and traditional front lines are changing into widespread guerrilla warfare, with numerous militias also involved in the fighting.
The IGAD led peace process has proven difficult to resurrect. Opposition groups say IGAD canada goose outlet store uk partner states Uganda and Kenya (accused by the UN of fuelling the conflict by supplying weapons) are on Kiir’s side. Some are arguing for the African Union and the UN to take over.
While some observers still back the IGAD canada goose outlet store process and think it’s important to give it the best chance possible, others see it is an outside intervention that has already failed and blame it for helping to further fragment the conflict.
The mandate for Kiir’s transitional government is due to run out in July and a government spokesman warned on Friday, 6April, that any foot dragging during negotiations by the opposition could lead to fresh elections.
The UN has warned that any attempt canada goose outlet to hold elections before the country is in a more stable environment only risks deepening and extending the conflict.
With time running out, achieving some progress in the next round of talks is paramount. But the omens for steps towards peace aren’t looking great. “It’s the national dialogue that will move this country forward,” First Vice canadian goose jacket President Taban Deng Gai said last month during a speech in Yambio. “It needs to happen in South Sudan; it can’t happen in Addis.”
As the picture is muddied ahead of the peace talks in Addis Ababa, here’s a quick https://www.bamschaatsteam.nl look at Malong’s new group and some of the other main protagonists:
The South Sudan United Front
The jury may still be out on whether Malong’s primary intentions are political goose outlet canada or military, but his new SS UF group could become a major canada goose coats factor on the front line as the former army chief likely cheap canada goose still enjoys considerable support in his hometown of Aweil and the surrounding Bhar el canada goose outlet Ghazal region.
The main opposition group, the SPLA IO, is already actively encouraging Malong’s military ambitions. “His movement is a big threat to the government, because he will fight in areas that we have never reached, like the Bhar el Ghazal region,” SPLA IO spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said, adding, “Malong will expose a lot in the peace negotiations, making it difficult for the government to handle the pressure.”
Malong has announced his intention to join the talks in Addis Ababa, but it’s not yet clear if he will be permitted to participate in the negotiations.
“Malong is a hardline defector from within Kiir’s Dinka power base,” explained Boswell. In May 2017, he was sacked and placed under house arrest in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, until he fled while supposedly seeking medical treatment. He now lives exiled Canada Goose sale in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)
South Sudan’s government controlled army was founded in 1983 by ‘father of the nation’ John Garang. It usually has the support of some smaller youth militias such as the White Army in Northern Jonglei. Government accusations that Machar and the SPLA IO were planning a coup resulted in the start of the civil war on 15 December 2013.
After new fighting erupted in the capital Juba in July 2016 and Machar fled the country, Taban Deng Gai was instated as the new first vice president. Some members of Canada Goose Parka the SPLA IO were loyal to Taban Deng and canada goose outlet toronto factory now still support Kiir’s government. This nominally opposition faction loyal canada goose outlet reviews to Taban Deng remains a separate entity from both the SPLA and the SPLA IO in most parts of the country, but is pro government. Most of the opposition forces across the country are an array of local, non Dinka ethnic canada goose black friday sale groups.