S.Sudan clashes pushing country closer to 'brink of war': E.Africa bloc
President Salva Kiir vowed the country would not return to war, but the clashes have threatened 2018's fragile power-sharing deal which ended a five-year civil war between him and First Vice President Riek Machar.
FILE: South Sudan President Salva Kiir, gives his address during the unveiling of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, as the candidate for the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), at the Statehouse in Nairobi on 27 August 2024. Picture: SIMON MAINA/AFP
NAIROBI, KENYA - An East African regional bloc warned on Wednesday that recent clashes in South Sudan were pushing the country "ever closer to the brink of war".
Throughout its short history, the impoverished nation has been plagued by political instability and insecurity, but concerns have lately risen after clashes between forces allied to the country's rival leaders.
Tensions spiked last week when a United Nations helicopter attempting to rescue soldiers from the region was attacked and a UN crew member and South Sudanese general were killed in Nasir county in the northeast of the country.
President Salva Kiir vowed the country would not return to war, but the clashes have threatened 2018's fragile power-sharing deal which ended a five-year civil war between him and First Vice President Riek Machar.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa said the violence was the latest in a series of incidents "pushing South Sudan ever closer to the brink of war".
Prior to the attack on the UN helicopter, it noted that "an estimated 6,000 White Army combatants" had overrun a military encampment in Nasir on 4 March.
The so-called White Army refers to a loose band of armed youths from the same ethnic Nuer community as vice-president Machar.
The incidents served "as a critical indicator of the nation's vulnerability to violence", it said.
"Should tensions escalate, the risk of a return to widespread hostilities looms large," it said, urging de-escalation and an end to hostilities between all parties.
"South Sudan is balanced precariously between the promise of peace and the peril of conflict."
On Sunday, the United States ordered all non-emergency staff in the country to leave, warning that "armed conflict is ongoing".
Uganda's army chief announced on Tuesday that its special forces had been deployed to Juba to assist the government.
The South Sudanese government has pushed back against the claims of unrest.
Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth denied the presence of Ugandan troops.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday the situation remained "calm and secure", adding that the country was "open and safe for visitors, investors and development partners".
RISING TENSIONS
Daniel Akech, senior South Sudan analyst with International Crisis Group, said the situation "could go either way" but was "more likely to escalate".
The situation was being felt across South Sudan, Akech told AFP, with capital Juba and Jonglei state as potential flashpoints, but Nasir county still the focus of concerns.
People were already fleeing from the area, according to a member of international NGO Relief International in a refugee centre in Renk, a border town in the same state of Upper Nile.
"At the same time, there continues to be an influx from the ongoing violence in Sudan," they said on condition of anonymity because of the security situation.
"The state of health, sanitation, and nutrition is deteriorating in Renk as the population keeps on growing here."