Skip to footer

What new violence in South Sudan spells for the region

Conflicts between government forces and rebel leaders has prompted the United States to threaten renewed UN sanctions against the world's newest country.

|
Mulugeta Ayene/AP/File
South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar, 2nd left, looks across after shaking hands with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, center-right wearing a black hat, after lengthy peace negotiations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, earlier this month.

| Addis Ababa

South Sudan's rebel leader is warning attacks by government troops on rebel-held areas could sabotage a peace agreement.

Riek Machar told reporters in Ethiopia Monday that the South Sudan government is not respecting the cease-fire.

"The cease-fire has not been respected by the government since it was declared ... they still are on the offensive," Machar said. "If this situation goes on, it means the peace agreement is not implementable."

Both sides agreed to a cease-fire that took effect Sunday, but there are reported violations in the volatile states of Upper Nile and Unity.

Machar accused government troops of attacking despite the cease-fire and urged President Salva Kiir's government to control its troops.

From their side, South Sudanese officials accused rebels of launching fresh attacks on Monday.

The rebels ambushed a government army vehicle traveling between Leer town and the Thar Jath oil fields, Unity state acting governor Stephen Takel told The Associated Press by phone. Two government soldiers were killed in the attack, said army spokesman Col. Philip Aguer. The rebels also shelled government positions at Gabat area of Manyo County in Upper Nile state, without mentioning casualties, said Aguer.

But a rebel official denied there had been any clashes in the area Sunday or Monday. Leer county rebel commissioner Kuong Kuony said by phone from Unity state accused the government of sending a platoon of troops on foot out from Leer town, against the cease-fire's requirements that soldiers should remain in their barracks.

It is not possible to independently verify the alleged violations.

The U.S. has threatened U.N. sanctions against those who violate the pact, which was mediated by regional leaders and is backed by the international community.

___

Patinkin contributed to this report from Juba, South Sudan.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to What new violence in South Sudan spells for the region
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2015/0831/What-new-violence-in-South-Sudan-spells-for-the-region
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe