South Sudanese Civil War facts for kids
Quick facts for kids South Sudanese Civil War |
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 Military situation in South Sudan on 22 March 2020
Under control of the Government of South Sudan Under control of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition Under control of the Government of Sudan (For a more detailed map of the current military situation, see here.) |
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| Participants | ||||||||
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Allied militias:  EUPF (alleged)State allies:  Uganda Egypt (alleged) |
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 SSDM Cobra FactionGreater Pibor Forces (since 2015) Agwelek forcesTFNF  Sudan (South Sudanese gov. claim) |
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Salva Kiir Mayardit (President of South Sudan) Gabriel Jok Riak (from 2018) James Ajongo Mawut (2017–2018) Paul Malong Awan (2014–17) James Hoth Mai (until 2014) Kuol Manyang Juuk Peter Par Jiek † Yoweri Museveni Katumba Wamala Matthew Puljang |
 David Shearer (from 2016) Ellen Margrethe Løj (2014–2016) Hilde Frafjord Johnson (until 2014) |
Riek Machar (Leader of the SPLM-IO) Paulino Zangil Thomas Cirilo Gabriel Changson Chang Peter Gadet (died 2019) Lam Akol Khalid Botrous (2016–present) David Yau Yau (2013–2016) John Uliny Gabriel Tang †Yoanis Okiech † Paul Malong Awan (from 2018) |
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| Strength | ||||||||
| SPLA: 150,000 (2015) Uganda: 5,000+ (2014) |
12,523 (2015) 15,000 soldiers (2019) 1,800 police (2019) |
SPLM-IO: At least 10,000 defectors Nuer White Army: 25,000 (2013) NAS: 20,000+ (NAS claim, 2017) SSPA: 15,000 (SSPA claim, 2017) |
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| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| 10,659 killed, 9,921 wounded (Jan. – Oct. 2014) 21 killed (by Jan. 2014) |
5 peacekeepers killed (by Aug. 2015) | Unknown | ||||||
| 190,000 violent deaths (Apr. 2018) 193,000 non-violent war-related deaths (Apr. 2018) 383,000 total deaths (Apr. 2018) |
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| 1.5 million+ civilians had fled South Sudan and 2.1 million+ civilians internally displaced (as of 2017) Four Kenyan civilians killed. |
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The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'état. Machar denied trying to start a coup and fled to lead the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO). Fighting broke out between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM-IO, igniting the civil war. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government. The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
In January 2014, the first ceasefire agreement was reached. Fighting continued and was followed by several more ceasefire agreements. Negotiations were mediated by IGAD, the African Union, the United Nations, China, the EU, the USA, the UK and Norway. A peace agreement known as the "Compromise Peace Agreement" was signed in August 2015. Machar returned to Juba in 2016 and was appointed vice president. Following a second breakout of fighting within Juba, the SPLM-IO fled to the surrounding and previously peaceful Equatoria region. Kiir replaced Machar as First Vice President with Taban Deng Gai, splitting the opposition, and rebel in-fighting became a major part of the conflict. A rivalry between the President and Paul Malong Awan, former army chief, also led to fighting. In August 2018, another power sharing agreement came into effect. On 22 February 2020, rivals Kiir and Machar struck a unity deal and formed a coalition government.
By April 2018, it was estimated that about 400,000 people, 10.6% of which were children, had been killed in the war. This death toll includes notable atrocities, such as the 2014 Bentiu massacre. Although both men otherwise had supporters from across South Sudan's ethnic divides, there were strong tensions between the Dinka and Nuer, which were often violent. Kiir's Dinka ethnic group has been accused of attacking other ethnic groups and Machar's Nuer ethnic group has been accused of attacking the Dinka. More than 4 million people have been displaced, with about 1.8 million of those internally displaced, and about 2.5 million having fled to neighboring countries, especially Uganda and Sudan. Fighting in the agricultural heartland in the south of the country caused the number of people facing starvation to soar to 6 million, causing famine in 2017 in some areas. The country's economy has also been devastated. According to the IMF in October 2017, real income had halved since 2013 and inflation was more than 300% per annum.
Participants
Government allied
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)- South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM) – While the war was often viewed as a conflict between the Dinka-dominated government and other ethnicities, the Nuer-dominated SSLM allied with the government and helped take back Bentiu from the Nuer-dominated SPLM-IO in 2013.
Rebel groups
- SPLM-IO
Nuer White Army – The Nuer White Army is a militant Nuer organization originally formed to defend Nuer cattle herds and for cattle rustling particularly against the Murle people. During the Second Sudanese Civil War, they joined the breakaway faction of the SPLM led by Riek Machar and during the South Sudanese Civil War, once again joined on the side of Riek Machar's SPLA-IO- SSDM – The South Sudan Democratic Movement was originally formed by George Athor and became an umbrella group for groups aligned against the Dinka-dominated government. The SSDM-Cobra faction was a Murle-led faction led by David Yau Yau which fought against the government during the war, except for a time when a semi-autonomous Murle-led state was granted called the Greater Pibor Administrative Area. The "Greater Pibor Forces" was formed in opposition to the deal with the government. Another faction was the Shilluk-led faction of SSDM called SSDM-Upper Nile faction led by John Uliny, which then formed its own militia called the "Agwelek forces" that fought the SPLA in the Greater Upper Nile region.
- National Salvation Front
- South Sudan United Front
External powers
- UNMISS
- Uganda under President Yoweri Museveni sent troops to South Sudan on the side of the government and in 2014 helped retake all the cities captured by the rebels. As part of the Compromise Peace Agreement in 2015, Uganda agreed to withdraw its troops.
See also
In Spanish: Guerra civil de Sudán del Sur para niños
- Baratuku refugee settlement
- Central African Republic conflict (2012–2014)
