South Sudan Internal Conflict

Words: 787
Pages: 4

South Sudan has been mired in conflict for over 40 years. In the last 20 years, the war between north and south Sudan claimed over 2 million lives, causing the displacement of 4 million people, and destroying what little infrastructure existed in the south.

Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in July 2005, South Sudan’s biggest challenge has been to provide basic services in areas with a history of underdevelopment. Affected by chronic violence and insecurity, South Sudan is one of the poorest countries on earth, with limited education, health and water services. While people fight for water, land and other resources, ethnic tensions and renewed conflict have become the status quo.

Over the past ten years increased possession
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The first section of the book, therefore, will offer readers an understanding of South Sudan’s recent history framed within the context of internal conflict, ethnic and political power struggles. Each of these chapters will be authored by a notable South Sudanese citizen - academics, social workers, writers and others involved in the peace effort.

Chapters 8 through 15 form the second section and main focus of the book, seeking to grasp the reasons for the quick descent into violence following South Sudan’s independence and the unfathomable intensity of this violence today. Each of these chapters will be authored by South Sudanese people who have experienced the events firsthand, a compilation of interviews and personal essays.

This book is born from the need to participate in South Sudan’s current peace effort and give a grassroots voice to those who have suffered at the hands of political will and ethnic violence. South Sudan’s history shows us that peace and reconciliaton cannot be reached until the trauma and demons of the past have been brought to the surface, until people feel their suffering and loss has been acknowledged. In response to the August 2014 attempts at a peace process in Addis Ababa, and the grassroots peace movement, South Sudanese citizens deserve to have their voices documented and