South Sudan

=== Civil War (2013–2020) ===
{{See also|South Sudanese Civil War}}
{{further|Ethnic violence in South Sudan}}
[[File:Southern Sudan Civil War.svg|thumb|Military situation in South Sudan on 22 March 2020
{{legend|#ebc0b3|Under control of the Government of South Sudan}}
{{legend|#cae7c4|Under control of the [[Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition]]}}
{{legend|blue|Under control of the [[Government of Sudan]]}}]]

On the 5th of September 2013, an article written by analyst Duop Chak Wuol was published by the US-based South Sudan News Agency (SSNA).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ssnanews.com/index.php/2013/09/05/the-splm-and-the-rise-of-autocracy-in-south-sudan/|title=The SPLM and the Rise of Autocracy in South Sudan|date=5 September 2013}}</ref> The writer raised critical questions surrounding what he described as the rise of autocracy within the top leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and warned of monumental repercussions unless the ruling elites restored the founding principles of the party. Duop also berated the ruling party, arguing that the party has replaced its founding principles with "forgotten promises and deceptions." In December 2013, a political power struggle broke out between President Kiir and his former deputy [[Riek Machar]], as the president accused Machar and ten others of attempting a [[2013 South Sudanese coup d'état attempt|coup d'état]].<ref name="Kulish">{{cite news|last=Kulish|first=Nicholas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/world/africa/new-estimate-sharply-raises-death-toll-in-south-sudan.html|title=New Estimate Sharply Raises Death Toll in South Sudan|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 January 2014|access-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015153429/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/world/africa/new-estimate-sharply-raises-death-toll-in-south-sudan.html|archive-date=15 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Fighting broke out, igniting the [[South Sudanese Civil War]]. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside South Sudanese government forces against the rebels.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25759650|title=Yoweri Museveni: Uganda troops fighting South Sudan rebels|journal=BBC News|date=16 January 2014|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006114751/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25759650|archive-date=6 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the [[United Nations Mission in South Sudan]] (UNMISS). Numerous ceasefires were mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development ([[IGAD]]) between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and [[SPLM-IO|SPLM – in opposition]] and were subsequently broken. A peace agreement was signed in Ethiopia under threat of United Nations sanctions for both sides in August 2015.<ref name="South Sudan country profile">{{Cite news|url=http://bbc.com/news/world-africa-14069082|title=South Sudan country profile|journal=BBC News|date=6 August 2018|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620123955/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14069082|archive-date=20 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Machar returned to Juba in 2016 and was appointed vice president.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36140423|title=South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar sworn in as vice-president|publisher=bbcnews.com|access-date=30 April 2016|date=26 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429155058/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36140423|archive-date=29 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Following a second breakout of violence in Juba, Machar was replaced as vice-president<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/south-sudan-opposition-replaces-missing-leader-machar-160723144856580.html|title=South Sudan opposition replaces missing leader Machar|date=23 July 2016|publisher=aljazeera|access-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727102427/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/south-sudan-opposition-replaces-missing-leader-machar-160723144856580.html|archive-date=27 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and he fled the country<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37116862|title=South Sudan conflict: Sacked VP Riek Machar goes into exile|publisher=bbcnews.com|access-date=19 August 2016|date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818231703/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37116862|archive-date=18 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> as the conflict erupted again. Rebel in-fighting has become a major part of the conflict.<ref name="fp0117">{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/02/the-revenge-of-salva-kiir-south-sudan-genocide-ethnic-cleansing/|title=The revenge of Salva Kiir|date=2 January 2017|publisher=foreignpolicy|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626152337/http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/02/the-revenge-of-salva-kiir-south-sudan-genocide-ethnic-cleansing/|archive-date=26 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Rivalry among Dinka factions led by the President and Malong Awan has also led to fighting. In August 2018, another power-sharing agreement came into effect.<ref name="washingtonpost0718">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/south-sudans-warring-leaders-agree-to-share-power-again/2018/07/25/6ca19412-902b-11e8-ae59-01880eac5f1d_story.html|title=South Sudan's warring leaders agree to share power, again|date=25 July 2018|access-date=1 August 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726110843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/south-sudans-warring-leaders-agree-to-share-power-again/2018/07/25/6ca19412-902b-11e8-ae59-01880eac5f1d_story.html|archive-date=26 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

About 400,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the war,<ref>{{cite news|title=Nearly 400,000 'excess deaths' caused by South Sudan war|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-400000-excess-deaths-south-sudan-58090309|work=ABC News|date=26 September 2018|access-date=7 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008022704/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-400000-excess-deaths-south-sudan-58090309|archive-date=8 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> including notable atrocities such as the [[2014 Bentiu massacre]].<ref name="Reuters0918">{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-unrest-toll/study-estimates-190000-people-killed-in-south-sudans-civil-war-idUSKCN1M626R| work=Reuters| title=Study estimates 190,000 people killed in South Sudan's civil war| date=26 September 2018| access-date=26 September 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926173943/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-unrest-toll/study-estimates-190000-people-killed-in-south-sudans-civil-war-idUSKCN1M626R| archive-date=26 September 2018| url-status=live}}</ref> Although both men have supporters from across South Sudan's ethnic divides, subsequent fighting has been communal, with rebels targeting members of Kiir's Dinka ethnic group and government soldiers attacking Nuers.<ref name="BBC News">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25944446|title=South Sudan 'coup leaders' face treason trial|journal=BBC News|date=29 January 2014|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102093736/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25944446|archive-date=2 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 neighbouring countries, especially Uganda and Sudan.<ref name="WashingtonPost0918">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/a-new-report-estimates-more-than-380000-people-have-died-in-south-sudans-civil-war/2018/09/25/e41fcb84-c0e7-11e8-9f4f-a1b7af255aa5_story.html|title=A new report estimates that more than 380,000 people have died in South Sudan's civil war|agency=Washington Post|date=26 September 2018|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926131126/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/a-new-report-estimates-more-than-380000-people-have-died-in-south-sudans-civil-war/2018/09/25/e41fcb84-c0e7-11e8-9f4f-a1b7af255aa5_story.html|archive-date=26 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 20 February 2020, [[Salva Kiir Mayardit]] and [[Riek Machar]] agreed to a peace deal,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51562367|title=South Sudan rivals strike power-sharing deal|date=22 February 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref> and on 22 February 2020 formed a [[Cabinet of South Sudan|national unity government]] as Machar was sworn in as the [[Vice President of South Sudan|First Vice President]] of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mednick|first=Sam|title=After 6 years of war, will peace finally come to South Sudan?|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/23/after-6-years-of-war-will-peace-finally-come-to-south-sudan|access-date=2023-02-03|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref>

Despite the official cessation of the civil war, violence between armed militia groups at the community level has continued in the country; according to [[Yasmin Sooka]], Chair of the Commission of Human Rights in Sudan, the level of violence "far exceeds the violence between 2013 and 2019".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-19|title=Violence in South Sudan engulfs country, 10 years after independence 'children all have guns' {{!}} UN News|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1085202|access-date=2023-02-03|website=news.un.org|language=en}}</ref>

The [[2024 South Sudanese general election|first democratic elections in South Sudan since the start of the civil war]] were scheduled for 2023 by the peace agreement that ended the war officially, but the transitional government and opposition agreed in 2022 to move them to late 2024 instead.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-08-04|title=South Sudan again delays its 1st election, until late 2024|url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-africa-sudan-south-juba-4f35064ef1173a9e14f6e60f55d36b50|access-date=2023-02-03|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}</ref>