South Sudan: Watching a fragile nation

[davidbfpo]

A BBC report suggests a motive and context for this incident:

Ethiopia's army is trying to rescue 108 women and children abducted in a cross-border raid in the western Gambella region, the government says.
It blamed Friday's raid, in which 208 people died, on the Murle community from neighbouring South Sudan.


The Murle have previously been accused of carrying out cattle raids and stealing children to raise as their own.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-36071090

[davidbfpo]

In what appears to be a first-hand report from Gambella, which explains why this attack broke a twenty year absence of such raids. In part it is tribal, in part reflects the instability on both sides of the border:http://www.theguardian.com/global-de...ia-south-sudan

[davidbfpo]

Hat tip to WoTR for David Ucko's article on peacekeeping in South Sudan and its many problems:http://warontherocks.com/2016/08/sou...eeping-policy/

IMHO it is not just the USA that is at fault, many share some responsibility, but above all it is South Sudan's failure - after decades of war to get independence - to want peace enough.

As for the promised and declared 'robust peacekeeping' well the UN's record in Africa is not robust.

[davidbfpo]

A rare article on this country and IMHO a key passage offers an explanation why:

James Okuk, a political analyst at Juba University, sees a more fundamental issue driving the violence, arguing that the long history of war has created “a psychology of military power”. “It’s the attitude of the leaders that is letting people down. They are not prepared to build a state or a nation. They got used to staying in power and enjoying privileges of being in government. They can’t envision a good life outside. It is about them being either in government or there being no South Sudan. “So they have got themselves into this unnecessary struggle where everyone wants to be in the government and be in power and so get a free ride.”

The full title is: Born out of brutality, South Sudan, the world’s youngest state, drowns in murder, rape and arson.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...al-development

[davidbfpo]

A book review by Jason Burke; the author is a BBC reporter who was based in country. A tragedy after independence.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...w-south-sudan?