Photo of refugees in the Catholic parish of Riimenze courtesy of Solidarity with South Sudan.
South Sudan: End of Peace Deal
A fragile peace deal in South Sudan collapsed Mar. 27 after the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, threatened to throw the country back into war.
The UN warned that a return to full-blown intrastate conflict could cause rates of sexual and gender-based violence to spike — a pattern observed in the country’s prior civil war — particularly if violence fractures along ethnic lines. The current transitional government has yet to implement legitimate mechanisms to investigate wartime atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence, as specified in the 2018 peace agreement.
The Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference on Mar. 28 expressed alarm about escalating violence in a statement and called on leaders to honor peace agreements and resist a return to arms, repeating Pope Francis’s plea for peace when he visited Juba in 2023: “No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence. Let there be peace!”
The Catholic bishops warned against foreign military involvement, pointing to the deployment of the Ugandan military as a cause for heightened fears that South Sudan could become a “battleground for external interests and political manipulation.”
The escalating violence in the South Sudanese state of Western Equatoria, near the border with the DRC, has forced hundreds of families to seek refuge near the Catholic church in Riimenze. Solidarity with South Sudan, an international and intercongregational training organization formed in 2008, is providing vital aid and tools so families can cultivate small plots offered by the parish to grow their own food.
Meanwhile, on Apr. 6 in Washington, DC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States was immediately revoking visas issued to all South Sudanese passport holders due to a spat with South Sudan over its hesitancy to accept a deported man whose nationality was unclear. Less than 48 hours later, South Sudan agreed to accept the man.
While it remains unclear if the United States will lift the blanket visa ban, the State Department announced Apr. 15 that it will shut down seven of its embassies worldwide, with the South Sudan Embassy among them. According to Secretary Rubio, the South Sudan mission no longer serves U.S. interests in East Africa.
Faith in action: Follow Solidarity with South Sudan for the latest updates. https://solidarityssudan.org/