Some political analysts regard South Sudan as a country held hostage by the gun lobby. Before independence, centuries of exploitation and slave raiding by the “Arab” north against the “African” south, followed by imperialist meddling by Britain and Egypt, caused persistent conflict between what is now Sudan and Southern Sudan. The root cause of the war includes religion, race, economic exploitation, and colonialism. The legacy of decades of civil wars, fought primarily in what is now Southern Sudan, has harmed the general quality of life and welfare of South Sudanese residents and prevented people from participating in productive economic activities such as agriculture.
The civil war ended when the SPLA/SPLM and the government of Sudan signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on January 9, 2005. The CPA allowed for a separate administration for Southern Sudan as a semi-autonomous and stipulated that a referendum on independence for that region would be held in six years (2011). In January 2011, the Southern Sudanese overwhelmingly voted for independence in a referendum, and the semi-autonomous state became fully independent in July 2011. While the long-awaited sovereignty was expected to usher in an era of political stability, the newly formed government immediately faced an escalation of ethnic violence. Besides, there was growing tension within the ruling party (the SPLM) throughout 2013, leading to another outbreak of bloody interethnic violence pitting the Dinka and Nuer in 2013.
The political struggle for power between President Salva Kiir (Dinka) and his rival, vice President Riek Machar (Nuer), is at the root of the civil conflict that began in December 2013. While the government of Southern Sudan celebrated the sixth anniversary of the birth of this new state on July 9, 2017, nearly five of these years were spent in a civil war that forced millions of South Sudanese to flee to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia; and resulted in thousands of deaths. Just before Christmas 2017, the government of South Sudan and rebel factions signed a new cease-fire agreement with the mediation of the Inter- Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU), and the Troika in a final attempt to bring more stability and create space for dialogue.
The persistent conflicts, however, negatively impacted the general quality of life and welfare of South Sudan’s residents and prevented people from participating in productive economic activities, including agriculture.