This Week in South Sudan – Week 2

Monday 9 January

• The SPLA (IO) claim their forces are still controlling up to 90 per cent of Nasir area in Upper Nile State.
• Both government forces and the SPLA (IO) claim they are in control over Morobo town, Central Equatoria.

Tuesday 10 January

• The Government of South Sudan (GOSS) banned travel on the two main roads in and out of Torit following several killings by unknown gunmen over the last few months.
• President Salva Kiir met with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo to discuss bilateral cooperation and trade.
• The SPLA (IO) claimed over 200 government soldiers have defected and joined the SPLA (IO) in Unity State.

Wednesday 11 January

• GOSS announced it will no longer accept the deployment of the UN Regional Protection Force, saying the security situation in the county has improved. They also argued that the UN Security Council resolution, under which the forces were to be deployed, has elapsed.
• The SPLA collected over 1200 weapons during a house-to-house search in Juba.

Thursday 12 January

• An SPLA spokesman claim American, British and Norwegian government officials met in Nairobi with SPLM (IO) representatives to plot a regime change. The Troika countries deny the allegation.
• New Institute for Security Studies report: “Beyond ARCISS: New fault lines in South Sudan”

Saturday 14 January

• President Salva Kiir issued a decree creating four new states in addition to the existing 28 states established in October 2015.
• GOSS has reportedly banned foreign NGOs from operating in SPLA (IO)-controlled Payinjiar County, Unity State.

Sunday 15 January

• President Salva Kiir dismissed the Central Bank governor, Kornelio Koryom Mayik, reportedly due to high inflation and the depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) against the dollar.
• The Guardian: “Makeshift justice the only recourse for ill-protected women at South Sudan camp”