“I mean, it went from normalcy to complete chaos, and then back to ceasefire and complete uncertainty, and we just didn’t know what was going to happen”.
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According to World Vision, one of the many humanitarian organizations working in the country, thirty thousand civilians have been displaced since the latest fighting broke out last week between the rival factions of Kiir and Machar.
The past month has seen an armed confrontation between Kiir’s forces and troops loyal to Machar. “Two C 17 aircraft leave for Juba with @Gen_VKSingh on board”.
Indian nationals arrive from South Sudan’s capital Juba at Entebbe International Airport, about 42 kilometers east of capital Kampala, Uganda. AP.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council on Monday to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, sanction leaders and commanders blocking a peace deal and fortify the peacekeeping mission. At the time this raised worries about the conflict widening but the forces withdrew late a year ago. South Sudan has been rocked by violence that has claimed hundreds of lives. “The never-ending cycle of violence, of debastating violence, of South Sudan must come to an end now”. “He thinks that his ministers are not secure, and they can not be safe” Kiir explained.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners are providing urgent life-saving assistance to thousands of people displaced by last weekend’s heavy fighting in Juba, South Sudan, which reportedly killed some 272 people, including 33 civilians, and displaced at least 36,000 civilians.
The Ugandan military on Thursday began rescuing Ugandan citizens trapped in neighboring South Sudan that has been engulfed in conflict for the past couple of days.
“What do you need more forces for?” he said in a news conference. The president said he is ready to protect Machar and his allies if they come to the compound. He said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, was also investigating the incidents, including its own response. “So we will not accept that”.
Meanwhile, fighting continued to spread to other parts of South Sudan.
Ellen Margrethe Loj, head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan, told reporters that she had received reports Wednesday of fighting in Leer, adding she remained vigilant about other potential flareups.
“The Transitional Government of National Unity is the only viable mechanism to fully implement the agreement”. “To think that we can abandon them and they do it on their own is unworkable”.
However, President Kiir feels the foreign troops in the country are already beyond the required number.
No other country played a bigger role in the creation of South Sudan than the United States.
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Obama noted in a July 13 letter addressed to Congress that an additional 130 USA troops are in reserve in neighboring Djibouti.
