Browsing: Riek Machar

• United Nations warns that the arrest of First Vice President and main opposition leader Riek Machar signals a severe unravelling of the peace process.
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urges South Sudanese leaders to “put down the weapons” and “put all the people of South Sudan first.”
• Over one million people have fled across the border from Sudan since fighting broke out.

“All the dark clouds of a perfect storm have descended upon the people of the world’s newest country – and one of the poorest,” Mr. Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

After finally gaining independence from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011, civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and opposition forces led by his rival Riek Machar, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

In 2018, a peace agreement ended the fighting and established …

South Sudan’s handshake’ has been welcomed by economists who say the deal resonates with the demands of the economy, which according to the World Bank and IMF, expects it to be one of the fastest-growing in the continent.

Last week, a new government of national unity was unveiled with Dr. Riek Machar joining the government as a vice president ending six years of civil war that has killed about 400,000 people and displaced millions. The war has also led to massive looting and wastage of oil and the proceeds of the natural resource leaving the country impoverished.

According to the World Bank, Africa’s top performers in 2020 will be led by South Sudan (8.2%). This coupled with the new peace agreement is expected to overturn the negative tide the country has faced in the last few years.GDP Annual Growth Rate in South Sudan averaged -3.46 percent from 2009 until 2018, …