Last week, it was announced leadership in South Sudan came to terms on a cease-fire amidst ethic violence and near civil war. Though the cease-fire was short-lived and violence returned to South Sudan days later, local congresswoman Karen Bass, whose 37th District includes Century City and Cheviot Hills, released a statement supporting the agreement.
On May 12, Bass stated she welcomed the “Agreement to Resolve the Crisis in South Sudan” by President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar.
“I welcome the announcement that South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar have signed an agreement to resolve the crisis that has taken too many lives in South Sudan, and I wish to offer my sincerest thanks to Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn for his tireless efforts to mediate a peaceful and sustainable end to the conflict,” she stated “This agreement was the result of longstanding US support to South Sudan, and cooperation with the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the broader international community.”
The cease-fire was, according to Bass, the result of “diplomacy and sanctions” that brought “both sides of this conflict to the table … so the world’s youngest country can finally end the litany of grave atrocities that has killed thousands of its citizens.”
According to the New York Times, Kiir and Machar came to terms on a cease-fire on May 9 and was the second accord reached by the two sides this year.
When Machar, the leader of the rebellion against the current South Sudanese government, and Kiir reportedly reached an agreement in January, the cease-fire had collapsed within days, several news outlets announced.
The cease-fire reached earlier this month fell apart within hours after going into effect, some outlets reported. According to The Guardian, New York Times, and other publications, violence apparently erupting in the Upper Nile state of South Sudan and the country’s capital soon after the cease-fire went into effect.
Located in northeastern Africa, South Sudan declared its independence from Sudan in 2011 and is the world’s newest country. It’s capital and largest city is Juba, where violence has already occurred since fighting began.
It is unclear how many people have died as a result of the fighting, which reportedly boiled over in December 2013. Some news reports state about 2,000 lives have been lost. Other reports claim the body count has reached into the tens of thousands. Exact figures have not been confirmed.
As many as 1.5 million people have reportedly been displaced, a BBC News report after the most recent cease-fire agreement stated.
Violence erupted about five months ago when Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup to rid take the South Sudanese president out of power, several news reports stated.
BBC News reported a Kiir spokesman told the outlet the fighting was not amongst ethnic lines. Kiir hails from the Dinka tribe while Machar belongs to the Nuer tribe. Members of both tribes have reportedly been involved in the five-months long violent conflict.
Also according to BBC News, Kiir and Machar have both been accused by the United Nations of mass killings.
Ethiopia had reportedly been hosting peace talks.
