South Sudan this week saw heavy fighting with as many as 500 killed or wounded, as army factions clashed in the capital following months of political tension in the oil-rich nation after the president dismissed his deputy.
President Salva Kiir, clad in military fatigues rather than his signature cowboy hat and trademark black suit, said the army had foiled a coup attempt by a group of soldiers loyal to the former vice president, Riek Machar.
Kiir and Machar were key figures in the ranks of the rebel South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which fought a 21-year civil war against the Sudanese government in Khartoum.
But since his dismissal in July, Machar has been leading a faction against Kiir’s ruling party, and has also announced he will run for presidency in the 2015 elections.
Political tensions have been high in recent weeks, and the fighting Wednesday has already spread to the rural state of Jonglei, prompting fears of a wider conflict in a nation where 50% of the population live below the poverty line.
Although the oilfields are located in the southern part of the country, far from the capital city of Juba, there are fears a broader conflict could disrupt oil production. South Sudan pumps around 200,000 b/d and is the country’s main source of revenue.
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The instability comes weeks after South Sudan started producing oil following a 15-month shutdown caused by a row with Sudan over pipeline fees. Both Juba and Khartoum are heavily dependent on oil revenues and the issue over which country governs the disputed oil-rich Abeyi province, and which is entitled to profits from the sale of oil, remains a contentious issue.
Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the infrastructure to export it is in the north. Juba is undergoing talks with its neigbors to provide alternative export routes, which may or may not solve it challenges with Khartoum.
As long as the border is not demarcated, the status of adjoining oil fields will not be certain and ownership is likely to be a point of contention. South Sudan’s foreign minister Barnaba Marial Benjamim has called for calm, insisting that those reponsible for the failed coup will be punished.
The real tragedy is for the people of both countries who have never known peace.
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