South Sudan: Africa’s newest country to be ravaged by civil war | The world

South Sudan remains the world’s newest country 13 years after its creation, but retains many of the old problems that led to its demise.

Previously recognized as an independent nation in 2011 following a 2005 agreement to end a decades-long civil war, the southernmost ten states broke away from Sudan to form South Sudan.

However, after decades of fighting for greater autonomy and sovereignty, secession failed to bring peace to the country.

In 2013, civil war broke out after President Salva Kiir Mayardit dismissed his entire cabinet and accused Vice President Riek Machar of instigating a failed coup.

The ensuing conflict killed thousands and displaced more than 4 million people.

A United Nations peacekeeping mission did little to stop the violence that occurred so regularly that it almost became a way of life.

However, in 2018, a power-sharing agreement was signed between the warring parties, with the president and his former vice president agreeing to lay down their arms in exchange for an uneasy peace.

Despite the end of the civil war, the conflict in neighboring Sudan has forced the country to cope with an influx of 500,000 refugees.

It is tempting to end the play on an uplifting note, suggesting that life in the country will improve considerably, but this is not the reality.