Former Vice President Announces Return from South Africa
Former Vice President Reik Machar said he would return to South Sudan from South Africa after he fled the country during clashes in the capital city (Sudan Tribune)
The South Sudanese military said it killed more than fifty rebels loyal to Machar in recent clashes (VOA)
Escalating Violence in South Sudan Kills Dozens
Fighting in South Sudan between rebels and government forces killed at least sixty people, the military said. Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang accused the rebels of “burning civilians, maiming women and child abductions and setting ablaze properties.” A spokesman for the rebels denied the accusations (Reuters)
Rebel Attacks Kill Twenty-One in South Sudan
Twenty-one people were killed and twenty were wounded in South Sudan after rebels attacked trucks carrying civilians, the government said (Reuters)
Report: Peacekeepers Abandoned South Sudan Posts
UN peacekeepers abandoned their posts during a July outbreak of fighting in South Sudan, according to a new report from a U.S.-based Center for Civilians in Conflict (Guardian)
The report also says that women were sexually assaulted within view of UN bases
South Sudan Vice President Blames Rebel Leader for Unrest
Taban Deng Gai, the recently appointed acting vice president, says that Riek Machar and his associates are fueling the country’s return to war. Deng suggested that a “Riek Machar mafia” is holding displaced people at the camps, which he said ends up prolonging the civil war (Foreign Policy)
Rebel Leader Calls for Renewed War in South Sudan
Riek Machar, rebel leader and former vice president, called for renewed war against the government and declared the collapse of the August 2015 peace agreement. Machar fled the country and is in exile in Khartoum, Sudan (AFP)
Government Tightens Grip on Media in South Sudan
Authorities ordered the closure of the English-language newspaper Nation Mirror in South Sudan after it published details of an unfavorable report from a U.S. research organization on the personal wealth of the country’s leaders (Voice of America)
UN Monitors: South Sudan Acquires Weapons
South Sudanese government troops have purchased weapons, including two fighter jets and small arms ammunition, while opposition forces have received no significant arms deliveries, according to a confidential UN report seen by Reuters (Reuters)
Opposition Fighters Transferred to DRC for Medical Treatment
Hundreds of South Sudanese fighters loyal to Riek Machar, opposition leader and sacked vice president of South Sudan’s national unity government, were transferred to the UN peacekeeping mission in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo to receive medical treatment (Reuters)
Kerry: Deploying Protection Force to South Sudan is Urgent
During a visit with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the deployment of a 4,000-troop protection force recently authorized by the United Nations to South Sudan is urgent (VOA)
South Sudan Opposition Leader Leaves the Country
Riek Machar, former South Sudan vice president and leader of the opposition to President Salva Kiir, fled the country, a spokesman said (Sudan Tribune)