Description: Members of the White Army militia and loyalist from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA – IO) attacked the Ruweng Administrative Area in the northern parts of South Sudan killing over 170 people. The deadly conflict between government forces and the White Army militia reignited in Jan followed by almost a year of political tensions surrounding the arrest of the country’s first Vice – President Riek Machar. Government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir were also accused last week of attacking a hospital with airstrikes which were the result of the reignited clashes in the state of Jonglei at the end of Jan. The armed conflicts are the result of a failed power sharing agreement between Machar and Kiir and threatened to plunge the country into a renewed civil war.
Impact: South Sudan’s escalating violence and deadly confrontations are pushing the country closer to a complete state of civil war that could integrate in the ongoing civil war in Sudan and complement the recent military tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The security situation in the central and eastern parts of Africa is deteriorating by the day with humanitarian crises spreading across borders, complemented by increased refugee flows. Both Machar and Kiir have been reluctant to allow mediation and resorted to force and military operations following the collapse of the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement.