This Week in South Sudan – Week 27

Monday 4 July

• According to state officials, the local government in the proposed Gbudwe State in Western Equatoria State, is reportedly training over 800 youth from various armed groups.

Wednesday 6 July

• Authorities in Jonglei state said that thousands of people have fled their homes after a land dispute escalated into violent clashes.
• A government investigation committee started questioning military commanders in Wau town over the recent violence in the area.
• Al Jazeera: “South Sudan: The 3-year-old victim of renewed fighting”

Thursday 7 July

• Authorities in Warrap state have collected over 200 firearms from a Gelweng militia in Aguok centre.
• Heavy mortar shelling and sporadic gunfire erupted in the south of Wau town, Western Bahr el Ghazal State, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee. 

Friday 8 July

• The head of UNESCO South Sudan, Salah Khaled, was shot near the Egyptian Embassy in Juba.
• Clashes first broke out in Juba on Thursday and Friday, and continued on Sunday after a lull on South Sudan’s Independence Day, Saturday 9 July. International media reports on the escalation of violence and tense situation in Juba:
  • Al Jazeera: “South Sudan fighting: Gunfire erupts again in Juba”
  • CNN Broadcast News: “South Sudan: U.S. evacuates embassy staff amid ‘sudden and serious’ fighting”
  • Reuters: “Fighting flares again in South Sudan capital after U.N. demand for restraint”
  • BBC: “South Sudan ‘back to war’, says VP Riek Machar’s spokesman”
  • BBC: “South Sudan: UN seeks to end Juba violence”
  • New York Times: “A Look at South Sudan, a Young Country Divided by Civil War”
  • Bloomberg: “China Peacekeepers Killed in South Sudan as Civil War Looms
  • Foreign Policy: “Renewed Violence in South Sudan Threatens Fragile Peace Agreement”
  • The Guardian: “More than 300 dead as South Sudan capital is rocked by violence”
  • Deutsche Welle: “Renewed violence erupts in South Sudan capital”

Saturday 9 July

• Gunmen attacked barracks in Otogo Payam of Yei River County, Central Equatoria state, leaving one soldier wounded.
• Al Jazeera Broadcast News: “Salva Kiir and Riek Machar: South Sudan’s shaky peace”
• Al Jazeera Interactive Media: “Five years since South Sudan independence”
• Al Jazeera Inside Story: “What’s gone wrong in South Sudan?”

Monday 11 July

• Heavy gunfire resumed in Juba on Monday, after a quiet night Sunday evening.
• US calls for regional troops to deploy in South Sudan, evacuates embassy.
• Hundreds of residents fled their homes in Torit, Eastern Equatoria State as fighting and heavy gunfire broke out in the morning hours.