South Sudan Foes Agree to end Conflict

Africa, a continent divided not just simply by its political viewpoints, but also layers of ethnic, cultural, and religious disarray. With South Sudan, the world's newest state attempting to stabilize after gaining independence in July 2011, it finds itself deteriorating internally. Led by President Salva Kiir upon its birth, South Sudan has faced devastating political havoc since allegations of a coup were made against vice-president Riek Machar. Upon the allegations being made, a civil war erupted between Kiir and Machar's rebel forces. With almost 10,000 South Sudanese casualties, talks of a peaceful agreement have come around. It is important to recognize, however, how the violent events taking place for the past two years do not rest on political differences. Machar fought with rebel forces within his own ethnic group Nuer, while Kiir fought with his own Dinka. South Sudan's conflicts, indicative of the entire African continent, lie within many complex roots that expose ancestral tensions between interstate groups. A civil war is indeed citizens fighting citizens of the same state; however South Sudan's problems arise on an ethnic level. These ethnic groups identify strongly to their language and personal traditions, and less to state identities. Similar to the Hutu and the Tutsi of Rwanda, or the Mau Mau uprisings within Kenya, African conflicts and wars evoke issues that are much deeper than simple politics. Ethnolinguistic differences can cause a South Sudanese to find no camaraderie to his/her neighbor. For this reason, African conflicts are one of a kind. With peace promised to the people of South Sudan, it will be interesting to see how Machar and Kiir will be able to look beyond their many differences.

Yoomna Rahim
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31087242