In the wake of a civil war that broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (part of the ethnic Dinka’s) has formed a transitional government of national unity with former vice-president and rebel leader Riek Machar (part of the ethnic Nuer). The civil war broke out following an alleged coup by Nuer military troops and violent clashes sparking division in the army largely along ethnic lines. The African Union (AU) has welcomed the formation of the South Sudan’s transitional government as part of the peace agreement that was struck in August 2015 following warnings by the U.S. and has announced to facilitate the implementation of the peace agreement to help both sides overcome any outstanding issues. The unity government is to face the task of prioritizing security reforms and recovering the fragile economy to eliminate peoples incentives to take up arms again.

For years, armed militants from the Sudanese rebel movement (SPLA) had been fighting for independence from the north in a move to break away from the predominantly Arab Muslim population. While the SPLA was back then considered a relatively cohesive liberation movement, the achieved independence for South Sudan on 9 July 2011 left the force without a common enemy, leading to a conflict fuelled by ethnic rivalries within the new country, mostly along the lines of the Dinka’s versus the Nuer.

Even before it seceded from the north, oil-rich Sudan was a top priority for America. According to the U.S. official development assistance database, Sudan has been the third largest recipient of its aid since 2005, behind only Iraq and Afghanistan. After the struck peace deal in August 2015, the U.S. had deployed National Security Advisor Susan Rice who would oversee the road to peace and urged the South Sudanese leaders to refrain from their own selfish interests and stop obstructing potential peace opportunities.

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For a broader review of the civil war, click here.